When Destiny Calls
by kawaii.meiko
Summary: First encounter: their personalities clashed. He's an arrogant spoiled brat; she's a stubborn, childish girl. Enter a tensai into the picture, and who knows what game destiny will bring about. Love is a slow and painful process, no?
1. Chapter 1: 'Stained' Impressions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the anime/manga "Prince of Tennis" in any way... That is why this is called a _fan fic_... hehe... And this applies to all chapters of this fan fiction.

_Italics_: character thoughts if within apostrophes; pronounced with emphasis if in dialogue; or if neither, I just want the word/s to be emphasized

--

Romaji meanings: (as advised by Hiyoshi-kun is Awesome xD and redjello-04)

'Ore-sama' - what Atobe so arrogantly calls himself xD

'Buchou' - Captain

'Gomen!' - Sorry!

* * *

**Chapter One: 'Stained' Impressions**

It was a fine Saturday morning of August, the sun was high up and at ten-thirty, raven-haired Tsukushi Meiko was already wandering the streets of Tokyo.

'_I can't believe I arrived earlier than _him_, we were supposed to meet thirty minutes ago,' _she muttered to herself as she looked at the time on her phone. She was sitting on a swing and rocking it back and forth; suddenly, a nearby ice cream stand caught her eye. '_Just what I need,'_ she happily thought.

After buying her ice cream, she absentmindedly walked back to the swing and kept on looking around to see if _he_ had already arrived. Wrong move. Because as she came near the swing, she suddenly bumped onto a wall, which turned out to be an arrogant, narcissistic guy suffering from a '_bad hair day_.'

"Ah!" she exclaimed, almost falling from the impact. Luckily, someone grabbed her upper arm, preventing her from falling on her back.

"Are you okay, miss?" the blue-haired tensai sexily asked, looking at her through his spectacles.

Meiko, who was also wearing glasses, looked up at him and nodded. Then, she snatched back her arm.

"You have _ruined_ Ore-sama's jersey, what do you plan to do now?" an arrogant voice suddenly spoke, surprising her.

"I don't know what you're talking—," Meiko, who was caught surprised by the impact, confusedly answered while raising her eyes to look at the boy in front of her. "A-Ahh! Gomen!" she exclaimed, realizing what she had accidentally done. In front of her was a white and blue-grey jersey with the print 'Hyoutei Gakuen.' It was stained with cookies and cream- and double dutch-flavored ice cream, and the owner of that jersey was not very happy about it.

"I'm really sorry," she embarrassedly said when Atobe Keigo, the owner of that jersey, just stared at her.

Atobe had dozens of the same shirt but he was not about to let her off easily, especially since he was having a _bad hair day_ and she just _ruined_ his shirt.

"Ore-sama is asking you what you plan to do now that you have _ruined_ his jersey," the boy with curly grey-purple hair pompously asked her while looking down at her (since their height differed by seven inches).

Meiko rolled her eyes. "Don't you think you're quite exaggerating?" she asked, now in a more aggressive tone. She already apologized, what else did he want? "It's not exactly ruined, it's just a _little_ stained," she added, emphasizing her point.

"A _little_?" Atobe repeated, his right eyebrow twitching slightly. "Ore-sama must tell you that being ruined and being a _little_ stained is just the same for him, ne Kabaji?"

"Usu."

"Buchou—," a light gray-haired guy hesitantly began, feeling the tension building up as the two glared at each other.

"Don't bother, Choutarou. You know him—he won't listen," a guy with trimmed dark brown hair interrupted him, looking bored and uninterested.

"Look, I already apologized. Is that not enough? Besides, my ice cream's also wasted, now it's inedible," she reasoned out, her eyes glancing on the ice cream on his shirt.

"Ore-sama will not accept a simple apology. What do you plan to do to atone for your _crime, _you little _slob_?" he replied mockingly, eyeing her not-so-tidy appearance. She was wearing a simple shirt and straight cut pants. Her hair was held high by a simple clamp and she was wearing no accessories or make up whatsoever. She didn't really look like trash or anything of the sort, but for someone as narcissistic and arrogant as Atobe who was already having a bad hair day, he simply _felt_ like calling her that.

Meiko raised her eyebrow in contempt. "Slob?" She turned her eyes towards the print on his jersey, and then glared back at him. "Hyoutei Gakuen," she slowly pronounced with mock. "The school of divas and drama queens—no wonder you're such an arrogant spoiled brat," she told him sharply while smiling sadistically. "Ne?"

Atobe's eyebrow twitched. How dare such a girl insult him and his school? His teammates were also offended by her words—Shishido smirked then said, "Watch your mouth," to which Meiko responded with a sarcastic smile; Ohtori showed a look of surprise; Oshitari adjusted his glasses; Hiyoshi narrowed his eyes; Taki glared at her; Kabaji, well, remained as Kabaji; and Gakuto…

"What did you say?" Gakuto challenged, advancing a step towards her.

"I don't remember talking to you," she turned her eyes at him, her head tilting a bit.

"You—!"

"Gakuto, don't butt in," Atobe said, his face wearing a very serious look.

"But she just insulted—," Gakuto stopped as he felt Oshitari's hand grip his shoulder as if telling 'Let Atobe handle this'.

"Oi," Atobe slowly began, Meiko's eyes switched back to him. "Do you know who you're talking to?"

Meiko just stared at him for a moment. "Let me see. Hmmm… Am I not talking to…_Anata-sama_?" she sarcastically answered, a mischievous smile curving on her lips.

Atobe continued to glare at her. "You must know that you are talking to no other than the mighty Atobe Keigo_-sama," _Atobe introduced himself in such a pompous way that made Meiko feel like throwing up.

"Atobe, ne?" she repeated, trying to recall where the heck she heard that _ugly_ name before. Suddenly, it hit her. "Ah. So you're the dirty, arrogant jerk who tried to destroy Tezuka-senpai's arm during a game more than a month ago. Hm. I can't believe I didn't recognize you earlier," she said.

Atobe narrowed his eyes. "You know Tezuka?"

"I more than know him," she replied quickly.

He smirked. "Ore-sama pities Tezuka, being surrounded by girls like you. You must be his _fan girl_?" he said in a sarcastic, insulting fashion.

Meiko smirked in return. "I'm no fan girl of anyone, excuse me," she replied sharply, feeling annoyed.

Her cellular phone suddenly rang. She looked down at it, pulled it from her bag, glared at Atobe before muttering "Excuse me," and turned sideways. Atobe's eyebrows twitched and his teammates also showed signs of annoyance.

"Where are you?" Meiko demandingly asked to whomever it was she was speaking with. "You're where? At the playground at the other side of the park? Ahh, I can't believe I'm lost again… Okay, okay; I'll go there right away. Ja!" she said to the other side of the phone before closing it.

"I'm quite in a hurry," she said aloud. "So, can we please settle this up quickly?" she said, her voice was softer but still reprimanding.

"Ore-sama doesn't think you're in a position to—,"

"Could you just remove your jersey?" Meiko interjected.

There was a short pause wherein everyone was awaiting Atobe's response. Meiko resolved that she would rather spend one whole hour watching a turtle and a snail _competitively_ race on a sunny beach than to spend a mere second looking at the arrogant guy staring down at her.

"Very well," Atobe sternly said with a smirk on his lips. "Ore-sama will give you this jersey now and you must hand it to Ore-sama on Monday—,"

"How about Tuesday?" she cut in.

"Fine, Tuesday afternoon it is," Atobe agreed after pondering over it for some seconds.

"And how am I supposed to find—?" But to Meiko's surprise and annoyance, Atobe was already heading towards a nearby locker room to change.

'_How disrespectful and arrogant can one get?'_ she inwardly muttered.

Somehow, the atmosphere surrounding them seemed to loosen a bit.

"Don't worry, miss. If you arrive at our school before five-thirty, you'll surely find Atobe at the tennis courts," the blue-haired tensai told her kindly.

"I see. Thanks," she replied as she lowered her head in a small bow.

Atobe arrived a minute later wearing a similar Hyoutei Tennis Club regular's uniform. He threw his 'ruined' jersey to her with a mocking smile.

She stared at him a bit before speaking. "See you on Tuesday then."

"Of course, that is, unless you choose to keep Ore-sama's jersey instead," he arrogantly said.

Meiko acted as if she wanted to throw up. "You can be rest assured that I'm not a desperate-Hyotei-Gakuen-Tennis-Club-Regular-fan-girl, if it's not obvious yet," she spat in one breath, rolling her eyes. "Since it's settled, I'll get going now. Ja!" Meiko bade indifferently, and she left without another word.

"What an impolite girl," Atobe muttered aloud.

Oshitari chuckled. "It's your fault, Atobe."

Atobe glanced at him with an annoyed look on his face.

--

"Meiko-chan," a happy voice called her as she was walking towards a nearby park with a fountain in the middle.

She turned and saw a certain brown-haired tensai smiling as usual.

"Syusuke-kun! Guess what, I just had an encounter with the 'Monkey King,'" she automatically told him.

"Monkey King?" Fuji asked, thinking for a few seconds. "You mean Atobe?" He was obviously interested.

"Ah. At first, I didn't recognize him—since I only saw him in the 'Monthly Pro Tennis' magazine or whatever it's called. But when he all-mightily said that his name was Atobe, that was when it slowly came to me," she said. "I remember Echizen calling him 'Monkey King' once or twice," she added insignificantly.

"Saa… I gather that you didn't have a very nice encounter with him?" Fuji asked, seeing her pissed off look.

"Eh," Meiko affirmed. "Look—," she pulled out a jersey from her body bag. "I kinda bumped into him and stained his jersey with my ice cream—and I was craving to eat that ice cream!" she whined at the memory of her wasted ice cream. Of course, it was more important to her than his jersey.

"If that's the case, then I'll just buy you another one. I discovered a great ice cream parlor nearby, you'll love it there," Fuji warmly suggested, finally understanding the cause of her disappointment. Meiko loved ice cream and her day would never be complete without eating at least a scoop or two.

"Really? Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" she cheerfully replied, successfully getting over her wasted ice cream.

"Ah," Fuji replied as Meiko took his arm and they started walking towards the nearby ice cream parlor.

* * *

_**05/18/08, 8:47 PM (Pacific Time, West)  
**_

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**Author's notes:** Hi! Hope you liked this first chapter! I promise that the story will be more interesting in the next chapters to come. Thanks for reading and please continue doing so! Thanks a lot! Please review! GOD BLESS!!

Fuji seemed to be close with our female protagonist here... What could be the reason? Hmmm... You won't find out soon, but I promise you'll find out why eventually... xD


	2. Chapter 2: Meet My Friends

Not much of Hyoutei here, but hope you'll still like it... This chapter is mainly for introduction, so I hope you'd understand... Please review!! Thanks!

* * *

Romaji meanings: (accdg. to their use in my story)

'demo' - but

'Ja ne!' - See ya!/Bye!

'bento' - lunchbox

'Sou ka' - I see

'mamushi' - viper

* * *

**Chapter Two: Meet My Friends**

"Meiko!" a pretty girl with golden-brown hair extending to her waist cheerfully greeted.

"Reika!" Meiko greeted back. She was wearing her hair down with two clips on the left, and it suited her well. "Wazzup?"

"Nothing really, I just saw you walking so of course I greeted you," the girl answered nonchalantly. There was an air of superiority emitting from her, though not towards Meiko. "You're not late today," she remarked.

"Ah. Demo, I'm not in the mood to attend classes," she said in a pout while they walked through the second floor corridor, admiring eyes looking at them as they passed.

"But you would still attend, of course?" the other girl asked.

"Sadly," Meiko answered. "Ja ne!" she bade as they reached her classroom.

"Ah. See you later," the other girl replied.

--

"Meiko-chan! Have you eaten your breakfast yet? I have rice balls here if you want," a cheerful spiky-haired boy loudly called to her as she entered the classroom.

Meiko smiled excitedly. "Of course I want it, Momo! You should ask instead how many I'd eat!" She answered cheerfully as she took a relatively big rice ball from Momoshiro Takeshi's bento.

"You should prioritize breakfast," Momo reminded her as he hungrily filled his mouth with one whole rice ball.

"It's not like I chose not to eat breakfast, Momo," she said as she happily dug her teeth on her rice ball.

"Hoi, hoi, you two! Why are you eating without calling me, nya?" a boy with dark red hair childishly complained as he saw his two kouhai-tachi feast over the rice balls.

"It's Momo's fault, Eiji-senpai!" Meiko teased. "He threatened me not to tell you," she said as if whispering, her left hand covering her mouth against Momo's eyes.

"Really, after my wholehearted generosity…" Momo muttered.

Eiji Kikumaru, being the perky person he naturally was, smiled sneakily and exclaimed in a really loud voice, "Is that true, Momo? How dare you do that to your senpai?!"

"E-Eiji-senpai, don't make such a scene," Momo said, glancing from left to right and noticing that all eyes were watching them.

"Gomen ne, Momo, Meiko-chan. I'll take Eiji with me now," Oishi apologetically said while pulling the resisting Eiji away.

Momo and Meiko looked at the two as they went away. "How pitiful, Eiji-senpai wasn't even able to take a bite of these," Meiko said as she pointed at the newly-emptied bento.

Momo shrugged. "Never mind, he always gets a bento or two from buchou's and Fuji-senpai's piles anyway," he said, pertaining to the pile of bento that his two senpai-tachi are receiving everyday from their fan girls.

"Hey, guess who I so unfortunately met last Saturday?" Meiko said as she sat on her seat next to Momo's.

"Let's see… Saeki-san?" Momo teased her, knowing she had a secret semi-crush on Rokkaku's Saeki Koujirou.

"Not him! Remember, I said 'unfortunately'!" Meiko defended, blushing a bit. "The one I met was—," but Meiko's words were cut off when their science teacher came in. "I'll share it to you later," she whispered, knowing how strict their science teacher was.

"Ehem. Today, we'll discuss how to compute for the amount of moles given a—," their teacher began.

'_Nice timing. Now, my ears have to suffer from hearing the word "moles" for the rest of the period. I like _exactly_ what it reminds me,'_ Meiko thought, feeling annoyed as her eyes found the door and stared at the nothingness, erasing the mole face from her mind.

--

"Ne, Meiko. You were sleeping during Nakamura-sensei's class, weren't you?" Momo asked her as they were walking to the cafeteria, ignoring the stares and whispers that both of them were attracting.

"I wasn't sleeping, baka. I was merely spacing out—you know I hate science," she answered.

"But you still get good grades, nonetheless," he replied.

"It's because I exert effort in studying! Unlike someone over _there _who only focuses on tennis... or perhaps... on a certain girl also?" she teased as she saw Momo looking at another second year eating at the cafeteria. "Really, you won't get anything with just a stare or two, you know!" she teased him further.

"W-What are you saying?" he tried to deny, but his stuttering and blush gave him away.

"You should approach her next time when you see her alone or whenever you sense a chance. But not now okay, because if you go to her now I won't have anyone to eat with," she joked.

Momo did not respond; instead, his gaze fell on another second year.

"I see you have a rival," Meiko said Momo's thoughts aloud as her eyes darted to a boy shyly stealing glances at Takehiko Rika—the apple of Momo's eyes.

"I wonder…" were the words that came out of Momo. He was contemplating deeply, she knew it, so she just let him sink in his thoughts.

--

"Momoshiro, Kaidoh, twenty laps around the court!" Tezuka ordered in his usual strict manner when he saw Momoshiro and Kaidoh arguing over a trivial thing…again.

It was another Monday afternoon of tennis practice; although the Nationals were over, nothing changed in the routine of the Seigaku tennis club members—particularly those of the regulars.

"Eiji, would you like to taste my newly improved Inui Special Mixed Ingredients Deluxe Juice? I'm sure you'll like it," Inui creepily told Eiji as he saw the acrobat trying to peek on his very precious data notebook.

"I-Inui! Y-You're here! I thought Ryuzaki-sensei wanted to t-talk to you?" Eiji stammered as he nervously eyed the pitcher of bubbling purple juice on Inui's hands. He was holding Inui's notebook behind him, keeping it from the data-man's sight.

"We already finished talking," he replied as he scarily took the notebook from Eiji's hands.

"Ah. S-Sou ka, Inui. Ja ne! Oishi is calling me over there," he tensely said before hurriedly heading towards Oishi who was busily (and innocently) practicing his swings.

--

"Dismissed!" Ryuzaki-sensei announced after thirty minutes.

"Let's go eat burger, Echizen," Momo invited while they were on their way to the locker room.

"Okay," Echizen answered shortly.

"I want to eat too, nya!" Eiji cheered when he heard them. "Ne, Oishi, how about you? Are you free?" he turned to his doubles partner and best friend.

"I'll pass. I still have to finish my project," he answered.

"Eh?! That's sad, nya! How about you guys?" he asked the other six.

"I'd love to go but I still have to help with our sushi restaurant," Taka-san answered.

"I still have to do other things," Kaidoh said.

"Like taking care of your fellow snakes?" Momo teased.

"What did you say?! Are you starting a fight?" Kaidoh asked challengingly.

"I won't back out from you, mamushi!" Momo snapped back.

"Stop that, you two," Oishi hurriedly said, trying to part their faces away from each other.

"If Tezuka would come, I wouldn't mind," Fuji answered to Eiji with his sadistic smile.

Tezuka glanced at Fuji but kept his straight face. "I'll go," Tezuka unexpectedly replied.

"If Tezuka agreed, then I'll go too. This is a good chance to collect data," Inui said, scribbling something on his notes.

"Yeeey! Then it's Tezuka, Fuji, Inui, Momo, Ochibi, and me! Let's go!" Eiji happily said.

And the two groups bade goodbye to each other as they parted ways.

--

"I wonder what I should eat today. I feel like eating burger, but I feel so hungry I also want to eat rice," Momo wondered aloud while the six of them headed to the restaurant.

"Knowing you, senpai, you would buy them both," Echizen told him coolly.

"Not only that. There's a 98.67 probability that Momo would buy five orders of the cheeseburger meal, three orders of the chicken with rice meal, and two orders of the burger steak meal," Inui said while looking at his opened notebook.

"Inui is so creepy, knowing such precise details," Eiji thought aloud while Momo pondered over what Inui said.

"Oi! Is that sweet bun over there? I need to make sure I get some!" Momo exclaimed as he rushed over a sweet bun stand where a group of people were clustering. The smell of the sweet bun made him forget about choosing what he'd be ordering later.

Inui showed a look of surprise. "I didn't expect that," he murmured as he scribbled again on his notebook.

"Momo's appetite is really unpredictable, eh?" Fuji remarked, smiling. "Saa, Tezuka. Why did you agree to eat with us?" Fuji turned his head to Tezuka, a sardonic smile replacing his 'innocent' smile.

Tezuka glanced at the smiling tensai and chose his words carefully. "I have nothing else to do and wanted to eat. Is something wrong with that?" the stoic captain asked; his voice still monotonous and calm.

"Saa… Tezuka having nothing better to do? That is a rare occurrence. Don't you think so, Inui?" Fuji turned his head to Inui as he spoke and saw the latter scribbling really furiously on his notebook for the umpteenth time. "Of course there's nothing wrong with that, Tezuka," he added, the smile not yet fading from his lips.

--

"Itadakimasu!" they altogether said before starting to eat their food. As Inui predicted, Momo did order all the meals that he mentioned, but Eiji had a feeling that Inui's prediction turned out to be right only because Momo and his humongous appetite heard him enumerate those and not the other way around.

"Tsukushi," Tezuka muttered, making his companions drop whatever they're holding (save for Fuji) and stare at him in amazement. _'Did he just mutter the name 'Tsukushi'?_' they all thought.

"Ah. Meiko-chan," Fuji said, his eyes looking at the direction of the counter.

"Oh! It's really Meiko-chan!" Momo exclaimed as he spotted the girl. "Hora, Meiko-chan! We're here!" he shouted to her, earning him the stares of the other people around. "Ah, gomen, gomen!" he apologized to them, still loudly.

"They're here…" Meiko muttered when she saw them.

"I had no idea you'd also be here," she honestly told them as she sat beside Fuji after receiving her order. "Actually, I planned to just buy here then eat at home. It's good you're also here," she cheerfully said.

"Eh. It's really nice," Fuji replied while smiling brightly, though Meiko can't help but think that there's something beneath his bright smile (again) and the way he said those words. Meiko knows him really well not to notice. "I thought you'd be having a late practice today," he inquired, sipping his juice.

Meiko nodded while removing the wrapper of her burger. "I'd be in charge of the practice on Wednesday so I was allowed to leave early today. Besides, I also have to choreograph one part of the dance," she explained.

"Eh? Sou ka, sou ka! Meiko-chan is really good. I heard Natsume-chan never lets anyone off unless that person has mastered the steps. She must be really impressed with you, nya!" Kikumaru complimented in his usual perky manner.

"Not really, senpai. There are still a lot of better dancers out there," she said nonchalantly before biting two French fries.

"Saa… don't say that. Each person has different skills and specialties, so you can't really judge like that," Fuji said gently.

"Ah. Fuji-senpai is right," Momo agreed. "Ne, Echizen?" he asked his kouhai, elbowing him at the same time.

"Ah. Meiko-senpai is a graceful dancer," Echizen remarked coolly with his usual half-asleep eyes.

Meiko giggled. "I'm not really upset about it or something, but thanks anyway," she replied cheerfully.

"Your group is practicing for your upcoming performance in the General Assembly three weeks from now, am I right?" Fuji asked another question.

"They would be performing in the 'All-Japan Schools' Tennis Clubs General Assembly' to be held at the Hyoutei Gakuen auditorium, to be exact," Inui corrected, his right forefinger pointing upwards.

"Mmm," she nodded. "But we'll only be performing a part of a ten-minute intermission number there. It's not really much of a big deal," she added nonchalantly while nibbling her fries.

"And aside from that you were also chosen as one of the six dancers to perform in the closing part, right?" Fuji said, still wearing a sardonic smile.

"We went through screening tests," she explained quickly as she took a mental guess of what was coming.

"To be considered as one of the best dancers in Seigaku and perform there, that's a really big achievement," Momo praised.

"Ah, ah. It really is. Ne, ochibi?" Eiji agreed.

Echizen gave him a 'why-do-I-always-have-to-be-asked?' look. "Ah. Considering the event covers all of Japan, ne buchou?" he said lazily.

"That's right. Performing at such an event is really an honor. Don't let your guard down," Tezuka said in his usual stoic manner.

Meiko giggled. She really wanted to hear Tezuka direct his favorite line to her. "Thanks, senpai, but it's as if you guys aren't considered to be some of the best in your field also; besides, being chosen doesn't literally mean being one of the best..." she returned the praise humbly.

"Don't thank us _like_ that, Meiko-chan," Fuji said, his smile being more sardonic.

Meiko glared at the tensai. "Oh, will you stop it?! I don't have enough money to treat you each with sundae, you got me? I bought a lot of groceries yesterday," she hastily said.

"Surely, Meiko-chan hasn't completely emptied her pockets, ne Momo?" Kikumaru said—an evil grin plastered on his face.

"Of course not, Eiji-senpai. After all the words of wisdom and support we gave her; surely, she won't be as ungrateful as that," Momo agreed, a similar evil grin on his face.

"Or perhaps Meiko-chan would like to try this newly improved Inui Special Mixed Ingredients Deluxe Juice?" Inui creepily asked Meiko, his hand holding up a pitcher of the purple bubbly juice.

"Inui-senpai, even if that's purple, there's no way I'd drink that!" Meiko protested.

Meiko looked pitiful as she helplessly stared at them. Kikumaru and Momo both had evil grins on their faces; Fuji was smiling innocently but she knew better than to trust that look, after all, he was the one who started it; Inui was still holding up the pitcher of the purple juice, much to Meiko's disgust; Echizen was simply wearing a faint smile on his face that appeared to her as expectant in a teasing manner; only Tezuka kept a straight face and appeared oblivious to everything else that was happening. _'These guys…'_ she thought hopelessly. "Okay, fine, whatever. But keep it minimal, okay? My wallet's nearing bankrupt," she said in a pout before sighing in defeat.

To save her wallet from further bankruptcy, she asked Momo and Echizen (the two youngest males with them) to buy seven rocky road sundaes after a very tough haggling with Kikumaru and Momo (with some teasing hints from Fuji and Echizen)—they insisted on the more expensive 'very rocky road sundae with chocolate chips and extra fudge' instead of the simple 'rocky road' flavor. Although they finally agreed on the 'rocky road' flavor, she still considered it unfair since she only planned to treat them with plain chocolate fudge sundae.

--

It was already six-fifteen when they had finished eating.

"Seigaku," a _very_ familiar, arrogant voice spoke as soon as Tezuka, Kikumaru, Momo, Inui, and Echizen stepped out of the shop. "How are you doing, Tezuka?"

The five looked at the source of the voice, and saw no less than the Hyoutei team.

"Just fine, Atobe," Tezuka replied in his usual monotonous voice.

"Oh, Monkey King is here," Echizen suddenly said.

"Still the same cocky brat, ahn, Echizen?" Atobe asked, turning to the freshman.

"Look at my wallet, it's completely empty!" Meiko moaned as she stepped out. She and Fuji were the last ones to step out because she was still complaining to the smiling tensai.

Meiko stopped walking and narrowed her eyes as she followed the gaze of her companions. She felt her blood drain as she saw the ever arrogant, narcissistic, and flamboyant self-proclaimed 'King of Hyoutei Gakuen' who happened to be her mortal enemy number one for that month: Atobe Keigo…_-sama_.

"Monkey King!"

"Clumsy girl," Atobe said in return, and he must commend himself for being able to hold back his surprise when he saw the girl. She looked pretty with her hair down and wearing a cute school uniform, unlike in their first meeting where she looked untidy. He wouldn't have recognized her if she didn't shout at him like that.

Oshitari chuckled inwardly as he watched the two exchange death glares. He just witnessed the arrogant and narcissistic Atobe_-sama_ being called "Monkey King" twice in a row by two stubborn persons in a span of less than a minute. He, along with the other Hyoutei Regulars, was also surprised that she was actually pretty; they didn't recognize her immediately.

"Saa, Meiko-chan. That's not a proper way to address a senpai," Fuji gently told her, finally breaking the silence.

Meiko broke off the glare and turned her eyes on Fuji. "You're right. Gomen ne," she apologized, though it seemed to be directed more to Fuji than to Atobe.

The Hyoutei Regulars were all surprised at how Fuji was able to tame her with just words and a smile. Could it be that there was something more to them?

Fuji turned to Atobe. "Saa, Atobe. Don't you think it's your turn to apologize?" he asked while smiling sadistically.

"Nani?" Atobe replied, narrowing his eyes to the tensai.

"I take it that you just called my _favorite_ girl 'clumsy'," he explained briefly, still wearing the same smile.

Atobe smirked. "No one tells Ore-sama what to do, Fuji Syusuke."

"As a gentleman, don't you think it's just proper to apologize to a girl for calling her names?" Fuji replied. Tension was building up between the two; all of them could sense it.

Atobe stared at the tensai. He smirked again and flipped his hair. "I'll let you go this time, Fuji Syusuke, but don't expect this to happen again," he said, and then he turned to Meiko. "Ore-sama sends you his apologies, _Meiko-chan_," he said, though not so sincerely.

"I accept. And it's _Tsukushi-san_ for you, _Atobe-senpai_," she answered stubbornly.

Atobe's eyebrows twitched. "Let's go, Kabaji."

"Usu."

And the Hyoutei Regulars walked past them.

* * *

_**05/18/08, 10:08 PM  
**_

* * *

**Author's notes: **Hi again! Hmmm... I'll give you some things to ponder upon... What could be the **real relationship between Fuji and Meiko**? The Seigaku regulars seemed normal with it--no usual teasing and stuff... and remember when Momo teased Meiko about **Saeki-san**? Hmmm... Take a guess! I'll let you know in the succeeding chapters! xD

Please don't forget to **review**, it would _absolutely _mean a lot! Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3: Paying a Visit

**Chapter Three: Paying a Visit**

It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon and Meiko would have loved the day if only she did not feel, or rather, _know_ that something bad was going to happen. It was the day that Meiko was expected to return a certain jersey to a certain Monkey King—and the thought of it made her feel sick.

'_Where is he?'_ she impatiently thought as she checked the time on her phone. The time was five-seventeen, and she had been waiting at the gate of Hyoutei Gakuen for twenty minutes already. She remembered what the blue-haired guy told her about the Monkey King being inside the tennis courts 'til five-thirty, but she half-wished that he would be considerate enough to give a little effort in checking her by the gate since she really didn't want to enter the campus. It's free to dream, after all.

"Ne, Atobe, you're supposed to meet your _date_ today, right?" Gakuto asked their buchou half-teasingly after their tennis practice was dismissed by Coach Sakaki.

"Ah, she must be very excited," Atobe conceitedly replied as they were walking towards the locker room.

After some minutes of changing clothes and fixing their things, Atobe stood up from his chair. "Let's go, Kabaji," he said.

"Usu!" came Kabaji's default reply.

The other regulars looked at each other as Atobe left the locker room. They were all curious so they decided to follow him and watch what would happen.

"There you are."

The Hyoutei Regulars stopped walking just as they got out of the locker room. They looked at the source of the bored voice. It was, as expected, Tsukushi Meiko.

Meiko finally decided to enter their campus since there was almost a hundred percent probability that Atobe would be fetched by a car, which might hinder her from seeing him. Oh, the effect of being frequently near Inui-senpai. She planned not to make any more quarrels whatsoever with them so that she can quickly remove her small self from that big school of theirs as soon as possible.

"Here it is," she spoke again. Her voice was still fierce and authoritative, but it was calmer and more reserved.

Atobe just stared at her.

"Can you please just take it so I could leave immediately?" Meiko asked—semi-pleading, semi-reprimanding.

"Kabaji," Atobe said, and Kabaji took it from her automatically. Meiko just _had_ to roll her eyes at the sight of such a spoiled brat.

"Did you just roll your eyes at Ore-sama?" he asked.

"Sorry, 'can't help it. Ja!" she said nonchalantly as she spun around.

"Wait."

She stopped, turned back to Atobe, and tilted her head slightly downwards while wearing a 'what's-the-matter-tell-me-quickly' expression.

"Ore-sama doesn't remember asking you to destroy his shirt, it was more like you should have washed it and brought it to Ore-sama _neatly_," Atobe said mockingly.

Meiko glared at him. Sure, she has no talent in being a housewife whatsoever—she's not a good cook, she leaves her house messy, and she just hangs her clothes 'coz it'll take her forever to fold them (not because of their number but because of her slowness), but she really gave effort in ensuring the neatness of that boring jersey since she recognizes that he is still _king_ although he is a _monkey_, so how dare he insult her like that after all her troubles? It was the fault of her messy body bag that it was crumpled, not hers, her only mistake was that she sort of made the color duller.

"Oh please, don't show your monkey side too much—oh sorry, I almost forgot that even monkeys aren't that stupid. I remember telling you that I'll wash your jersey for you, but I never said that I'll return it to you super duper neatly. You should even be thankful that I bothered ironing it for you," Meiko replied sarcastically.

"You actually ironed that?" Gakuto chirped in, looking surprised and ignoring the death glare that Meiko was sending him.

"You're all rich kids here, right? Then, I suppose you can just ask your maids to iron that, spoiled brat," Meiko said, obviously annoyed.

"Of course, Ore-sama can do that. Ore-sama has more maids than you could ever dream of, girl, but don't forget that it was your fault that Ore-sama's jersey was ruined, and that it's your responsibility to make up for your _crime_," Atobe answered arrogantly, his hands across his chest.

"Crime? You're a perfect proof of what I said that this oh-so-majestic school of yours is home to the spoiled brats and drama queens. You realize that, do you?" Meiko said sarcastically. It was the first time that anyone had managed to make her ears so strained from listening for just a matter of two minutes. Not even their chemistry teacher succeeded with that.

Atobe smirked, but before he could say anything more, someone else spoke.

"How dare you talk back to Atobe-sama?" an unfamiliar female Hyoutei student hotly asked her while two other girls behind her nodded.

"It's not your problem," Meiko airily replied.

The girl narrowed her eyes on her and smirked. "Seigaku, ne? No wonder you have no manners," she said sarcastically.

Meiko smirked. "What's the connection?" she asked in an 'are-you-sure-you're-feeling-well?' manner.

The girl glared at her. "Don't be too full of yourself. Nobody needs someone like you in Hyoutei," she said, raising an eyebrow _and_ her tone.

"Believe me, I never dreamt of stepping foot in this oh-so-very-important school of yours if not only for a trivial-turned-major-concern matter," she answered, glancing at Atobe who was watching them exchange fierce words.

The girl smirked sardonically. "Trust me; no one in our school is delighted to see your silly ass here."

Meiko smirked back. "Unfortunately, this isn't the last time I'd be stepping foot on this _wonderful_ school of yours."

"What do you mean?" the girl asked her sharply.

"You'll see," she said with a scary fake smile. "And when you do, prepare to eat your words," she added piercingly. "Ja ne!"

And with that, Meiko strode off—not even bothering to glance at the Hyoutei regulars' direction.

* * *

_**05/19/08, 6:19 AM**_

* * *

**Author's notes:**Please submit a review!! Help me improve this fic… please, oh please! Thanks you! To **_xxcherryblosoomxx_** who gave me my first ever review and included me in her favorites, thanks a lot! And of course, to **_GwangFei_** who added this story to her story alerts, a big thanks to you, too!


	4. Chapter 4: A Second Time

**Chapter Four: A Second Time**

"Play seriously, Momo! How could you let your kouhai score more than you?" Meiko teasingly shouted as she watched Momo and Echizen face each other on a street tennis court. Although she was sitting on the umpire's seat, it was still the two players who were counting the score since they _totally_ refused to trust her judgment skills when it comes to tennis—she just simply _sucked_ at the sport.

"It won't last long. Just wait," Momo coolly replied.

"Meiko-senpai is so loud," Echizen lazily remarked.

"Don't be so cocky, Echizen. I can beat you in five minutes!" she said loudly.

"Che. Keep dreaming," Echizen muttered quietly, but loud enough for Meiko to hear.

"Drink a lot of milk first before you brag, ochibi!" she continued teasing. She exchanged conspirational looks with Momo. It was time to tease a kouhai.

"Meiko-chan's right, Echizen. Boys should be taller than girls," he teased.

"Whatever," Echizen mumbled. He quickly served the ball towards Momo's face; luckily, Momo's reflexes saved him from Echizen's wrath.

Meiko and Momo exchanged triumphant smiles; their target was obviously getting annoyed.

"Oi, kouhai-kun, don't be so brutal!" she teased further.

"Che," Echizen said as he served again.

Meiko pouted. She knew that no matter what she'd be saying, Echizen wouldn't respond anymore. So she decided to betray Momo and tease him instead.

"Momo, you're thoroughly falling behind. It's not interesting at all!" Meiko teased. She seemed hyper that day, which was actually her way of venting her anger to a certain monkey—though a good-looking one, she must admit.

"The game's just starting; it's just starting," Momo said while fixing the sides of his spiky hair.

"Just starting? I always hear that line every time I watch your games. It's like, the score's already 5-0 and people would start saying 'the game has just begun,' and I'm like, 'Hello! The game has already started twenty minutes ago, in case you haven't noticed'," Meiko shared, sounding annoyed.

Momo chuckled; Echizen smirked.

"That's the reason Meiko-senpai doesn't progress in tennis," Echizen said.

"Che. Whatever. In the performing scene, you can't begin clumsily and rely on a lavish ending. You have to perform flawlessly from beginning to end—there's no room for the smallest mistakes," she said. "Though I must admit that I haven't reached that level yet, hehe…"

"Heh. So that's why…" Momo said. "Echizen, hit your serve now!"

"Ah," Echizen replied lazily.

--

"Game and set, won by Echizen. Six games to three," Meiko announced as the game ended. Finally, she had said something useful for the game.

"Ahh. I totally lost, Echizen. But I would win next time," Momo said as he shook Echizen's hand.

"Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai," Echizen replied.

"I'll go buy you drinks!" Meiko offered as she climbed down her seat.

"Domo," the two replied.

--

"Hmm… Grape Ponta for Echizen…" Meiko thought aloud as she pressed a button on the vending machine located downstairs of the court. "…and this one for Momo." She pressed another button.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed as she turned around, the two juices-in-can almost falling from her hands.

"Watch where you're going," a _very_ familiar voice spoke.

Meiko raised her eyes, praying that her ears had just played a trick on her. But no, her ears didn't lie.

"Do you have a habit of bumping into people?" Atobe asked. He was also surprised when he saw her face. They met again, and under similar circumstances too.

"And is it your hobby to block people's way?" she replied sarcastically.

Atobe smirked and flipped his hair. "Ore-sama is sure that you're Ore-sama's fan girl. Yes, there could be no mistake about it—it's too much of a coincidence for us to meet like this again," Atobe over-so-confidently assumed.

Meiko also smirked. "I won't swoon over you even if you're the last monkey on earth, Monkey King," she mockingly told him.

"Ore-sama is NOT A MONKEY KING, CLUMSY GIRL!" Atobe furiously said, trying very hard to control his voice but not quite succeeding. And in what way was he comparable to a monkey? No, the perfect, beautiful _him_ is very, very far from being a monkey—it's actually as far as the distance between the two ends of the universe, he thought to himself.

"It's okay to be a clumsy girl, at least I'm still human," Meiko said. "And why won't you accept that you're a—"

"Meiko-chan! What's taking you so—?" Momo's words were cut off as he saw the Hyoutei Regulars. "Oi, Hyoutei, you're here."

"Momo! This monkey's harassing me just because he's king," Meiko complained to him.

Momo showed a look of surprise before grinning. "Oi, Meiko-chan, don't speak like that…"

"Oh, Monkey King is here," Echizen said out of nowhere. He got bored waiting for the two so he decided to follow them.

Atobe's eyebrows twitched. He felt seriously annoyed that the girl seemed to really believe that he's a Monkey King, and it was all thanks to that brat Echizen—as Oshitari had pointed out after they encountered them in front of a _cheap_ restaurant.

"Ore-sama just planned to pass by but a clumsy girl suddenly stumbled onto him for the second time around," Atobe said, giving an annoyed glance to Meiko.

"Ah," Echizen replied lazily. He turned to Meiko and Momo. "Senpai-tachi, I'll be leaving now since you're so slow."

"How rude," Meiko and Momo quickly muttered.

"If that's the case, we're going ahead," Meiko told the Hyoutei Regulars nonchalantly. "Ja ne!"

"See you next time, Hyoutei," Momo said as he and Meiko walked towards the court to get their things.

"We aren't finished yet, Tsukushi," Atobe called to her sternly.

"I agree, senpai," Meiko replied, looking back at him. She called him 'senpai' since he called her in a polite way, though she still wished that he added honorifics after her name since they were _far_ from being close.

* * *

_**05/19/08, 7:31 PM**_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hi guys! Thanks for everyone who paid attention to this fic especially those who included me or this story in their favorites or alerts... So far, those people are _**LovingMystery0927, xxcherryblosoomxx, GwangFei, harumikomi, **_and _**littleanjel**_! Thanks a lot guys! God Bless us all!


	5. Chapter 5: The Fated Match

**Romaji meanings:**

'Anata!'- You! (commonly used by females)

'Omae.'- You. (used by males only)

'Iie.'- No.

--

**Chapter Five: The Fated Match**

It was a Wednesday afternoon and Meiko's got nothing else to do aside from reviewing for an exam for the following day, and so, she considered herself free for the rest of the afternoon. She had already planned her activities—she would play tennis for half an hour, eat her favorite ice cream afterwards, and watch a movie after taking a long rejuvenating bath (not that she was a body cleansing-freak, but girls just need to relax sometimes).

It was one of the rare afternoons wherein Atobe Keigo could just die out of boredom, so he simply wandered the streets of Tokyo. Since the Nationals was over, their coach decided to set Wednesdays as the default "afternoon break" of the seniors—meaning that they don't need to attend practices anymore during Wednesday afternoons. He had already finished all his school works and he didn't feel like swimming. After half an hour of roaming around, he finally made up his mind on where to go and what to do—he remembered someone mentioning that there was a nearby street tennis court in the area and, luckily for him, he might be able to find some people to bully there.

Meiko went to the court where she knew only a few people, if any at all, would go to. It was quite hidden and unpolished so players would choose other courts over it. By playing there, she could be rest assured that no arrogant purple-gray-haired monkey wearing an _ugly_ white and gray jersey would bully her.

Atobe was heading to a court that he had never been to before. He wanted to bully new faces and, hopefully, no clumsy raven-haired girl wearing eyeglasses would absentmindedly spill ice cream on his _beautiful_ jersey.

Meiko was busy hitting tennis balls to the wall near the court. She wanted and expected that nobody would be there so that she could train in peace, but she forgot that being alone on a tennis court also meant playing by oneself, which was almost equivalent to playing with the wall. After fifteen minutes, she decided to take a break. She was drinking water from her jug when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

As Atobe approached the tennis court, he heard the sound of a ball bouncing. He smirked. When he came closer, the sound faded and instead, he saw a girl all alone drinking something. He narrowed his eyes to have a better look at her.

"Anata!"

"Omae."

Meiko exclaimed at the same time that Atobe spoke in surprise. Of all people in the world, why did they have to be on the same place at the same time? Was fate playing a stupid game on them, or was it destiny finding a way to make two hearts meet?

Meiko frowned; Atobe smirked.

"What are you doing here?" Meiko asked, though it sounded more like a complaint.

"Ore-sama will go wherever he wants to," Atobe answered arrogantly. He originally wanted to beat the usual weak players playing on street courts and humiliate them, but it seemed like his afternoon would be more fun and interesting—if not annoying, that is.

"Could you just go away now? I want to practice _peacefully_," Meiko said with a trace of irritation on her voice.

"Don't order Ore-sama, girl," Atobe stubbornly said.

Meiko rolled her eyes. She wondered whether she should stay or just leave, but she chose not to give him the joy of thinking that she strode away because she was afraid of him.

"Fine, but don't disturb me, okay? I'm still beginning to learn," she warned him.

Meiko resumed her practice. Atobe took note that with just a glance, one could determine that she was just an amateur. Sure, she was hitting _most_ of the balls, but she wasn't able to control their direction.

'_Okay, last ball and I'm outta here,'_ Meiko thought as she picked up another ball. From time to time she was stealing glances at the guy behind her, and she cannot be more annoyed when she noticed that he was doing absolutely nothing other than _pretend_ to practice and WATCH her. Holy mackerel, she never wanted anyone to see her practice tennis since she admitted that she sucked; but now, a rude, arrogant, and not-so-unknown stranger was watching and observing her practice! He could have at least warned her that he would ruin her most-awaited afternoon.

She absentmindedly threw the ball upwards while thinking how she would be delighted if his big head would inflate really profusely, making him float up in the sky and be carried away by the wind. Perhaps the powerful leader of the big heads was listening to her bad thoughts and made a subtle move to punish her, or the heavens could actually be rewarding her for whatever good things she had done in the past; for when she absentmindedly threw the ball upwards, the wind suddenly blew real hard that when she missed hitting the ball as she jumped, it hit the top of her head instead.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed, caressing her painful head as she sat down on the ground.

Atobe blinked, and the next thing that Meiko knew, a loud laughter came from behind her. Meiko had to close her eyes and breathe really deeply to control herself from throwing her racquet to the source of the 'huge uproar'.

"Shut up! You arrogant spoiled brat!" she yelled at Atobe.

Atobe ignored her and continued laughing hard. It was the first time that he saw such clumsiness—how could anyone accidentally hit his own head with his own service ball after jumping high and missing it? It may happen to beginners a lot, but for the self-proclaimed "King of Tennis," the scene was just too hilarious to contain. Besides... it was time for _revenge_.

"Haven't you laughed enough?" Meiko shouted at him, feeling both embarrassed and pissed of when he didn't stop laughing for like forever. _'I wonder if he can call himself a man?'_ she mentally asked herself, glaring at the Monkey King. Atobe was probably one of the most 'ungentleman' persons she had ever encountered, laughing at a girl like that instead of helping her.

"I don't care if you call yourself the "King of Tennis," Monkey King, but judging by your rude attitude, you don't appear like a sportsman to me—_let alone a man_," she told him, determined to piss him off in return.

Atobe smirked, finally containing his laughter. "Why don't you try Ore-sama then?" he challenged.

Meiko was taken aback. "I-It would be unfair. I'm already tired, you know?" she answered, well aware that there's no way she'd be able to beat him in a tennis game.

"Then Ore-sama would give you an advantage. We'll play a normal game—except that I will only win if I manage to end the game without letting you score a single point; otherwise, you win," he told her, confident that there's no way that such a lousy player would score against him.

Meiko thought for a minute. It was really a big advantage for her, but she recalled hearing that Atobe was a national level player, almost as skilled as Tezuka—and she knew Tezuka fairly well; she can't imagine gaining a single point in a tennis match with Tezuka as her opponent.

"Afraid?" Atobe intimidated her.

"You wish," she answered sternly, though deep inside she greatly doubted her statement. She was actually nervous. "You serve first."

Atobe smirked. As they positioned themselves, Atobe said one last rule. "Ore-sama forgot to tell you—the loser will face a consequence."

"Eh?! You didn't say that earli—" But before Meiko can continue her words, Atobe already served a fast ball to her side of the court.

"15-love," Atobe announced with his usual air of pride.

Meiko responded with a glare. "That was dirty," she muttered, but she knew that there was no turning back anymore.

Plainly speaking, it was a lousy game. It was pretty much a one-sided match that Atobe could have won in less than five minutes if only he did not enjoy making his opponent run all around the court. He kept on hitting different kinds of shots—slices, top spins, smashes—name it. Of course, he never planned to use his special techniques, especially his "Rondo towards Destruction." Even though he was taking delight in bullying her, he recognized that she was still a girl; besides, it was _highly_ unnecessary.

Meiko had already emptied her jug of water although it was only halfway through the game, and she was really exhausted—her stamina is no match against Kaidoh's. _'You can do this,'_ she encouraged herself.

"I won't let you give up even if you want to," Atobe mocked.

"Who said I would give up?" she retorted, her focus on the game. Atobe had to inwardly commend her strong will.

The score was 5-0 and Meiko still hadn't gained a single point. It was her turn to serve...and it was a return ace.

Meiko frowned at him. _'He's not taking it easy at all. It's like he's bullying and playing against me at the same time,' _she thought while panting heavily. She was so tired already she just felt like collapsing and being eaten by the ground under her feet.

"Three balls more and Ore-sama wins," Atobe boasted.

Meiko rolled her eyes again. "I'm serving," she breathed.

Meiko hit the ball at the side of the court where Atobe was farthest. At least she had been able to learn how to control the direction of her serve, though not accurately. Her ball was too slow for the great Atobe, who quickly returned it with an easy backhand shot. But Meiko won't surrender easily, she ran after the ball which was nearing the baseline and was able to hit it with her specialty shot—the forehand shot! (What would you expect from an amateur?) As expected, Atobe returned it easily, this time with a drop shot.

"Thirty-love," he announced again. Meiko was too much out of breath to respond.

"I'll serve—,"Meiko began to say while panting hard, she felt like the ground was moving against the force of gravity.

Atobe narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. "You sure you want to continue this match, ahn? Just tell Ore-sama that you're sorry for everything and Ore-sama will graciously forgive you," he offered, flipping his hair.

"Don't be so cocky, I can still play," Meiko replied.

Atobe smirked. "If you see yourself the way Ore-sama is seeing you right now, you might mistake yourself for a _dehydrating milk fish_ that was taken out of the waters."

Meiko's right eyebrow twitched; her insides were fuming. Did he just call her a 'milk fish'? And a dehydrating one, for that matter.

"Don't you think you've insulted me quite enough?" she asked him sharply, her anger meter almost reaching its maximum.

"Ore-sama is just telling the truth."

She continued to glare at him. How dare he? She already knew that he was rude and arrogant and overconfident, but she did not expect him to be that awful. She seriously wanted to snap back at him, but she felt like she had no more energy to argue.

"Your body has reached its limit, and you also have no water or juice to replenish the lost liquid in your body. It would be better for you if we stop this match. We could continue this some other time," Atobe explained all-knowingly.

"Whatever," was the cold reply of Meiko to him as she walked back to her bench. She hated to admit it, but he was right. Her body was already drained to its limit. She felt dizzy and wobbled a bit as she walked. Her surroundings appeared to her as if she was watching on a broken down TV. _'It's his fault,_' she thought. _'If he didn't make me run so much—,' _her thoughts were cut off as her vision darkened.

She felt a pair of hands seize her shoulders—supporting her body as well. _'What the—?'_ she wondered to herself. Her eyesight cleared a bit to the point that she can vaguely see her surroundings, but her knees still felt weak and her head seemed heavy.

"This is what I meant," she heard a voice speak from behind her. Before she knew it, she was carried princess-like by a pair of strong arms. Since her vision was cloudy, she narrowed her eyes to see the face of the person carrying her. It was, of course, Atobe Keigo.

She relaxed a bit and rested her head on his right shoulder as he carried her towards the bench. He sat her there, her back leaning on the bench, her head still resting on Atobe's right shoulder as he sat down beside her after shoving away her things.

Meiko realized that she lost consciousness for several seconds, and if it was not for Atobe, she would have fallen onto the ground and her head might have hit it hard. She was still feeling dizzy. She was in no condition to thank or apologize to him, let alone speak, but she was really grateful.

"Drink," he instructed her as he moved _his _bottle of water towards her lips. Meiko did as she was told, raising her head a bit. The water slowly rejuvenated her as she felt it go down her throat. After a few more moments, her senses came back to her though she still felt a bit dizzy. She moved her body forward, disengaging herself from any physical contact with Atobe.

"You're quite persistent, aren't you?" Atobe said. It was more of a statement rather than a question.

Meiko licked her lips. She finally understood what Atobe meant when he said that she looked like a dehydrating milk fish. She must have looked really pale and sweaty, but she still thought that he could have said it in a nicer way.

"Thank you," she said nevertheless, quite embarrassed. She tried to smile meekly but to no avail.

"Ah. You really should. You're quite heavy, you know?" he replied.

"Stop teasing me, spoiled brat. My weight's just right for my body," she responded.

"Ore-sama gathers through your response that you're okay now. Ore-sama can call his driver and give you a ride home," Atobe glanced at her while saying this. He was brought up as a gentleman after all, although he doesn't mind bullying girls up to a certain extent.

"That's not needed. I'm okay now," Meiko replied, trying to look cheerful.

Atobe smirked. "Don't blame Ore-sama if something bad happens to you, girl," he said as he hesitantly stood up.

"W-Wait," Meiko said.

"What is it?" he asked, looking down at her. He placed his hands inside his pockets.

"I haven't thanked you properly yet," she answered, looking at the ground while speaking.

Atobe eyed her curiously, his eyebrows slightly meeting as if asking her to go on.

"I could…like, treat you with ice cream…I always eat ice cream every afternoon," she slowly explained.

Atobe chuckled. "That's not necessary. Besides, Ore-sama isn't fond of sweets."

"Then, I could just treat you with what you—," Meiko decided not to continue her offer 'coz she sounded rather hopeless. He was rich after all; treating him with food would be quite foolish. "If you say so…Thanks again and sorry for the trouble," she said before smiling, but he noticed her disappointment when he refused her offer. Atobe, being the intelligent guy that he was, understood that she really wanted to return the debt, just as he would have wanted to if he was in her place.

He smirked. "Ore-sama understands. Does he need to call his driver?"

Meiko looked up at him, obviously surprised. "Iie," she shook her head. "It's just walking distance from here," she answered, smiling at him.

* * *

_**05/20/08, 05:03 PM**_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hi! How did you find the story so far? Please tell me if Atobe is OOC here… I honestly tried not to make him OOC as much as possible… and please tell me if you like my OC… And if you're wondering about the time frame... they first bumped into each other on a Saturday, saw each other in front of a restaurant the next Monday, met at Hyoutei the following day, stumbled into each other again Friday of that week, and this chapter, as mentioned above, took place Wednesday of the subsequent week.

I really want to improve my grammar since English is just my second language, so feel free to point out my mistakes! Thanks!

**GOD BLESS US ALL!!**

* * *

Thank you **xxcherryblosoomxx** who gave me my first review ever and added me on her favorite authors' list!! You gave me confidence through that!

Thank you **darkxxxflames** for reviewing! I'm glad you like it! And yeah, I also loooove Atobe! Oh really, the prowess of that arrogant, narcissistic buchou!

Thank you **xzlioness** for commenting that my OC is like turning Mary Sue-ish! I swear I never wanted to make her anything like that, so I hope you saw more of her 'imperfections' in this chappie, as well as in the previous one...

Thank you **Marui-kun Is Awesome**! Yeah, I kinda thought about that too…but you're the one who made me realize that reading fics of two languages could be really troublesome. I guess it's because most of the fics that I've read have jap phrases in them… So I'll be editing my first four chapters (just the jap part) and I'll just stick to English for the rest of my story unless jap is necessary. xD

Thank you **narutodaisuke93** for reviewing! And I'm really, really sorry, but I had already written chapter six and I still won't be revealing Fuji's relationship with Meiko…Hope you can wait!

Thank you **I.Hate.Running** for that very heart-warming review! I've already said a lot with my reply, so all I'm gonna say is that you really made me so HAPPY that you love my story! Thanks a lot! And I owe it to you for changing my mind about replacing this story! Yes, that's how easy to convince a 16 year old me!

Thank you **xxcherryblosoomxx **(again!)**, Kikuji-chan,** **LovingMystery0927, I.Hate.Running, 2553, **and** liteofsky **for including this story in your favorites, I'm so HAPPY!!

Thank you **Airashii Mochidzuki, GwangFei, darkxXxflames, harumikomi, littleanjel, xzlioness, **and** I.Hate.Running** (again!) for including my story in your alert list! I really appreciate it!!


	6. Chapter 6: First Date

**Chapter Six: First Date  
**

"Hora! We're here!" Meiko excitedly announced, stopping in front of a table of an ice cream parlor.

Atobe scanned the place. There were six tables covered by large umbrellas set up outside the main store, so the customers could choose whether to eat inside or outside. It was not bad, but Atobe was sure that it was not an expensive one either. _'The lives of ordinary citizens,'_ he thought, but smiling to himself at the same time.

"Is it okay if we eat here outside? I like eating outdoors better," Meiko cheerfully said.

"It doesn't matter," he agreed, disregarding the possibility that his fan girls might spot him eating there and crowd over them.

Atobe stared at her as she read the menu. He remembered her face when they were still on major quarreling terms, her determined expression during their game earlier, and the look on her face when Atobe agreed to her offer. To considerably change moods like that…she must be crazy, Atobe thought, chuckling inwardly.

"Senpai? Ne, senpai?" Meiko called his attention. "Earth to Atobe-senpai!" she said loudly.

"What is it, Tsukushi?" he asked her, snapping himself out of his thoughts.

"Didn't you hear me? I was asking you which of these do you want," she said, pointing to the menu. "Are you okay?" she added, fixing her eyes on his face which was growing _a little _red.

Atobe slightly moved backwards. "Ore-sama is fine. Unlike you, he's strong," he arrogantly answered, earning him a reprimanding look from Meiko. "And as for the flavor…" he lazily scanned the menu with his eyes. "Ore-sama wants you to choose for him instead."

Meiko mentally rolled her eyes. _'Fine. Honestly, if only I don't owe him one…'_

_--_

"I see you're here again, Tsukushi-chan," the manager kindly greeted.

"Eh. I really love it here, Maki-san," she cheerfully replied. "Mmmm… One Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Parfait and one Healthy Fruit Parfait, please." After much deliberation, Meiko finally gave the order to the manager, Maki.

"Is that all?"

"Yes. Oh, and two glasses of water," she added.

"Just a moment, Tsukushi-chan," the manager courteously replied before bowing and going inside the store. Meiko smiled politely at him.

"People here are really kind and generous. Sometimes, they give me more than the usual serving. You see, that manager who just took our order, he's also the owner and the main recipe-maker here," she told Atobe.

"You know quite a lot," he remarked.

"Eh, I'm usually here every afternoon, but I don't really buy the expensive ones..."

"…"

"Since you're an athlete, I chose something healthy for you. The Healthy Fruit Parfait here has pineapples, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries all in one glass. They also use nonfat yogurt so it's really healthy!" Meiko dreamily said, trying to break the one-minute silence and start a nice conversation. She was finally getting comfortable with him. "Actually, I had a hard time choosing mine because all flavors here are really delicious and appetizing."

"You don't make it too obvious that you're very excited, ahn?" Atobe remarked.

"Then _excuse me_, but I'm budget-constrained so it's not all the time that I could eat here," she replied.

"You should know that Ore-sama can't understand your sentiments," Atobe told her. How could the superbly wealthy Atobe Keigo understand the financial problems of a middle-class citizen anyway?

"I can't believe I even tried to make you," Meiko said, understanding his point.

--

Several minutes later…

"Itadakimasu!" Meiko cheerfully said before she quickly placed a spoonful of the parfait into her mouth.

"You're hopeless," Atobe said as he took a spoonful of his…in a more elegant manner.

"Isn't it delicious?" Meiko cheerfully asked him while taking another spoonful.

"Not bad," Atobe replied indifferently. "But it's not that great for you to act like that," he added, looking at Meiko's exaggeratedly happy face.

"It may not be much for you, but I'm actually spending two days worth of my savings here, so I should enjoy it as much as I can, shouldn't I?" Meiko replied.

"Ore-sama never guessed that you were so broke," Atobe said bluntly before he can stop himself. He scanned the menu earlier, and he was sure that even twenty orders of the most expensive one would not equate with even just _half _of his daily allowance. "Ore-sama was just joking," he quickly said to cover up for his frankness.

"Joking? What a foolish way to make an excuse," Meiko said, slightly offended. "I'm not spending my allowance solely on food, you know. I also use it to buy clothes and stuff; so it's really hard," Meiko explained. She pouted mentally when she remembered that if only those _friends_ of hers didn't trick her onto treating them, her wallet wouldn't have been so empty...

--

"Ore-sama called his driver and told him to fetch us here. Ore-sama will give you a ride home," Atobe told her while closing his phone after a few minutes of eating in silence.

"I'm okay. I'd rather walk," she answered, her eyes fixed on her parfait.

"Ore-sama is sure that it's going to rain," he said.

"Don't worry, I can handle myself," she assured him absentmindedly as she happily took another spoonful of her delicious parfait.

Atobe fought the urge to poke her on the head for being so _unnecessarily _stubborn.

--

After five minutes, Atobe stood up as a limousine parked in front of them.

"Eh?" Meiko asked, finally looking up at him. "But you haven't finished your parfait yet," she said as her eyes darted to his half-eaten parfait.

"Ore-sama has more important things to do than eat a parfait," Atobe replied impassively.

"Like what?" The words escaped Meiko's mouth before she can think about them. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that. I'm okay, you go ahead. I'll go home once I finish this up," she said quickly, shifting her gaze to her glass.

Atobe stared down at her. It was surely going to rain soon. He glanced at her bag; he saw its contents earlier when he shoved it out of the bench so he was sure that she was not carrying an umbrella. Would she be able to reach her house before the rain pours considering how slowly she eats? Atobe was sure she wouldn't make it, but though he wanted to insist on giving her a ride, he knew she would just refuse all over again.

Atobe, without saying anything else, turned his feet and walked towards his limousine. Meiko shrugged and resumed eating her ice cream, hearing the sound of an engine as the limousine drove away.

"Eat faster," a voice ordered her.

Meiko jolted at the voice. She looked up…and saw the face of Atobe Keigo—again.

"What are you—?" she cut off her words as she glanced behind him to check the limo—it was gone.

Atobe said nothing as he sat and started eating the remaining of his parfait quickly. It was Meiko's turn to stare at him.

"Didn't you hear Ore-sama? Ore-sama told you to eat quickly, or else we'll get stuck in the rain," Atobe said in response to her stare. At least he was courteous enough to pay attention to her curious look.

Meiko giggled. "I take back what I said earlier. You're a gentleman after all," she said teasingly.

Atobe chose not to respond.

Meiko sped up eating. After five minutes, they finished eating their respective parfaits.

Meiko gestured to the waiter standing by the door (he is assigned as lookout for customers who might try to escape without paying). He gave them their bill.

Meiko pulled out her wallet from her bag to pay the bill, but to her surprise, Atobe gave his card to the waiter and the waiter was already striding away with it. Meiko opened her mouth to speak but it just seemed embarrassing to shout after the waiter. She gave a reproachful look to Atobe.

"I told you it's my treat," she said, with the words 'YOU'RE UNFAIR!' written all over her face.

"Ore-sama never lets a girl pay for him." was his indifferent response.

"But, I was supposed to return the debt…" she didn't continue her words anymore because she knew they would still be useless. Besides, she also believed that men should treat their female companion during dates. But oh well, as if they were in a _date_. "Thanks anyway," she muttered, looking disappointed.

"About the debt," Atobe began rather hesitantly.

"What about it?" Meiko asked, curious and interested.

"Since Ore-sama already has everything he needs, showing him your house would be enough," he finished 'gallantly'.

Meiko thought about it for some moments. But before she could say anything, the waiter returned and handed Atobe his card and the receipt.

"I'll keep the receipt!" Meiko volunteered, snatching the receipt from his hand. Atobe replied with a 'what's-the-big-deal-with-the-receipt?' look.

"Let's go," he said as he stood up, putting his hands in his pockets.

"We're walking?" she asked, standing up too.

"Ah. Lead the way," he replied.

* * *

_**05/21/08, 03:33 AM**_

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**Author's Notes: Hope you liked it! Please REVIEW! GOD BLESS YOU, my dear readers!!**

I actually divided this chap into two, since the original one seemed too long for just one chappie. xD

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Thanks **angelazabini** for reviewing! My heart really gets FAT whenever I receive such reviews. I'm very glad that you like my story! 'Sorry if I haven't revealed the Fuji-Meiko relationship yet, it's just that I had already finished this chapter and I think this chapter is also essential, next to the fifth. And yeah, I'm also FILIPINA and I study at the University of the Philippines... Good luck in passing the UPCAT! Hope to see you there! By the way, what course do you plan to take? Just curious, you can answer it or not, I won't force you! xD Hope you liked this chapter also! Thanks for the review! God Bless!!

A big thanks to **darkxXxflames **for giving me a second review! Glad you like it! And I'm glad you pointed out the things that you like about it! Thank you!!

Same to you, **SyUmi**! Hope, you'll continue reading this!! I can also see their relationship progressing! Hehe... actually I was smiling when I read the fifth chapter again, I simply love Atobe!! Thank you!!

I just can't say no to a reader! It's by your request, **narutodaisuke93**, that I decided to post this chap now. I actually planned to post it when I get more reviews... hehe... anyway... hope you liked this!!


	7. Chapter 7: A Strange Sound

**Chapter Seven: A Strange Sound  
**

"And we were almost there!" Meiko exclaimed in dismay. The rain started pouring heavily and they took shelter in a convenience store. In front of them were cars stuck in traffic because of an accident. Atobe took out his phone and dialed his driver; however, because of the heavy traffic, it would take about two hours for the limousine to arrive. They decided to wait until the rain stopped.

"It's because you walk so slowly." Meiko was feeling bored so she decided to tease him instead.

Atobe's eyebrow twitched. "If only you agreed to let Ore-sama take you home via his limo—,"

"I don't remember asking you to wait for me and accompany me home," she defended.

Atobe gave an annoyed glance at her. She had a point, but nonetheless, it was still her fault.

"It's what a man should do," Atobe _nobly_ said while flipping his hair.

Meiko laughed. "Are you the same person who erupted in laughter when I was hit on the head by a ball?" she teased.

Atobe's eyebrows twitched. She had a point again.

Meiko looked down on her feet as they sat in silence. She was stealing glances at Atobe hoping that he would start a nice conversation, but five minutes passed and no conversation took place. She decided to break the ice, and so, she scanned her mind for anything to say.

"My exam is doomed," was the only thing she managed to come up with as she looked upwards at the falling rain.

"Oi, you have an exam tomorrow?" Atobe asked, slightly bewildered. Atobe Keigo would surely get good grades even without studying much, but he still makes sure to get an eyeful of his notes before facing a test.

"Eh, but I have already studied a bit, I'm sure I'd be able to handle it tomorrow," she lied…obviously.

Atobe thought for a few seconds, then, he removed his jacket.

"Let's go."

"Eh?" Meiko asked, confused.

"Ore-sama will use his jacket to cover our heads as we run towards your house," Atobe explained briefly, his eyes looking outside.

"I thought we'll wait here 'til—,"

"Waiting here means wasting Ore-sama's precious time," Atobe impatiently said.

Atobe pushed open the door and they ran as fast as Meiko could since Atobe was just pacing up with her speed. Meiko wondered how come her upper body wasn't getting wet at all and marveled at how big the jacket was.

--

"Youth, how sweet…" the middle-aged owner of the store dreamily said, her hand on her cheek, as she saw two young _lovers_ exit her store and run amidst the rain with only a jacket to cover their heads.

--

"We're here," Meiko said as she hurriedly pulled her keys from her bag and unlocked the gate. They ran for five whole minutes before reaching her house. "Come in first," she invited while grabbing Atobe's right wrist, giving him no chance to refuse.

"Feel at home. Here, wear this pair." She threw a pair of slippers towards Atobe's feet after opening the door. "I-I can't believe I left it this messy," she added embarrassedly, seeing how books, notebooks, clothes, and food wrappers were scattered around, and a plate was even left on the dining table.

"Why don't you call your—," her words were replaced by a gasp as she turned around to look at Atobe. The left side of his body was soaked and he was dripping—no wonder he stayed in front of the door.

"What happened to you?!" Meiko asked him although she already knew the answer. Atobe must have centered the jacket on her to make sure she won't get wet by the heavy rain. 

"You must take a bath or else you'll get sick. Sit over there while I get you a towel and a shirt," she said as she pointed to the leather sofa. "It's okay if the floor gets wet."

Atobe heeded since he was already tired and soaked. He looked around as he sat. Meiko's house was pretty much an average-sized one, maybe even a bit smaller. Its walls were painted light blue and there was almost no furniture. He also took note that the house only had the necessary things like a sofa and a center table in the living room, a round dining table with four chairs and a basket of fruits on the middle were located inside the kitchen, and a staircase can be seen in between the kitchen and the living room.

"Here you are. I was supposed to give this to Momo as a present for his birthday last July but I found a better gift. At least it could be of use… and you could keep it, or throw it away, it doesn't really matter, at least we're quits now," Meiko said as she handed him a red shirt (Atobe noticed that the _simple _shirt still had a tag on) and a clean white towel. "I suppose only your jersey and pants are wet," Meiko said, indirectly saying that he could just reuse everything else aside from his shirt and pants after taking a bath.

"That's right," Atobe answered, trying not to pay much attention to her.

"Have you called your driver yet?" Meiko asked him.

"Ore-sama is just about to do that," he answered as he took out his phone once again.

--

Atobe went out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later (he already hurried at that rate) and quickly spotted Meiko cooking something in a pot.

Meiko was busily reading a book while mixing the contents of the pot from time to time. Atobe took note of the way she tied her hair up using a pair of chopsticks and how she concentrated on reading her book—she was even holding an orange marker. She had also changed her clothes. She put on a big white shirt with a cute character on it together with a pair of shorts. He observed her more and delighted at the fact that she took no notice of him; her eyes were steadily fixed on her book.

Atobe smiled to himself as he continued staring at her. She was muttering some things from her book while her right hand lightly tapped her chin with the marker. Her smooth hair was drawn back from her face. Atobe could see her focused eyes behind the glasses she was wearing—her eyes were dark brown, and it wore almost the same expression it had during their game—a look of concentration, of strong will...

'_Thump.'_

Atobe blushed. He looked away. It was probably caused by exhaustion that his heart beat unusually rapidly and his face felt hot and red. Yes, it must have been because of their tennis game _hours_ ago in which he _barely _ran.

"Hey, I didn't notice you there. How come you're not saying anything?" Meiko cheerfully asked the moment she saw him. "If you could wait a little…the soup's almost cooked," she added, pointing to the pot in front of her.

Atobe mentally shook his head. "Your parents are working 'til late?" he asked, noticing that there were no people around.

"Hmmm…something like that..." Meiko answered.

--

"Help yourself!" Meiko said as she placed a bowl of steaming hot soup in front of Atobe as he sat by the dining table.

"Ah," Atobe said as he dipped his spoon on the bowl and sipped his first taste of Meiko's cooking. The steam coming from the soup was really hot; it made Atobe's cheeks hotter and redder.

"How does it taste?" Meiko cheerfully and expectantly asked as she looked at him.

"Edible enough," Atobe replied. It was not the most delicious soup on earth, and Meiko would definitely not receive an award for her cooking skills, but somehow, Atobe felt joy in eating the soup—the soup that Meiko cooked herself. Oh, what was he thinking about?

"Don't you have anything better to say? Soup is the only food I could cook well, you know…" Meiko said as she took a spoonful of hers. "I'm kinda afraid that I would burn this house if I cook so I usually eat outside…"

Atobe almost asked her if she can do anything (as in _anything_) well, but decided against it since it would be too rude. Meiko isn't good at household chores, she's also not competent at sports, and she often stumbles into people (based on his experience, anyway). Is there really a person who can't do anything good?

"What time do you think would your limo arrive?" Meiko asked him while sipping her own soup.

Atobe glanced at the wall clock. It was 7:15; he called his driver thirty-five minutes ago, normally it would just take about thirty minutes to get to her house, but since the traffic was heavy... "Forty minutes after eight."

"Hmmm…" Meiko nodded. "I see."

. . . Silence . . .

"Don't you think it's funny? We were eating frozen parfait a while ago, now we are eating steaming hot soup. It's kinda ironic, ne?" she joked…a lame one.

Atobe stared dully at her.

"Heh. Sorry. It was a lame joke," Meiko admitted, quite embarrassed.

Atobe chuckled. "You're really hopeless."

"E-Eh?!" she asked with slight annoyance.

"You really are," he said as he took another sip.

Meiko shot him an annoyed glare and resumed in eating her soup.

The rest of their mealtime was devoured in total silence.

--

"Hey, do you want to watch a movie?" Meiko, hoping to carry on with her planned schedule, offered as she washed the dishes. Of course, Atobe didn't bother to help her—it didn't even cross his mind that he should ask.

"What movie?" he curiously inquired.

"Hmmm... Let's see... I rented two movies—a horror one and a love story. I promised Syusuke-kun that we'd be watching the horror movie together, so let's just watch the love story," Meiko chose aloud, oblivious to the heart that sank when it heard a certain name.

"Ore-sama doesn't like watching romantic movies," he answered, suddenly feeling annoyed.

Atobe felt a twinge in his heart when he remembered the tensai and the event in front of the restaurant. He looked at Meiko. He can't believe that he offered to send her home and even protected her from the rain by _foolishly _covering their heads with his jacket—all for just a silly exam. Wait...

"Oi! Who said you could watch a movie?! You better study for your exam first!" Atobe told her threateningly, much to her surprise and disappointment.

Meiko pouted. "But it's a really good movie—the title's 'Serendipity' and..." Meiko chose not to argue anymore when her eyes fell on Atobe's clothes. She giggled. "The shirt fits you well."

Atobe's irritation seemed to fade. Of course he looks good on it—he looks good on everything.

* * *

_**05/21/08, 06:02 PM**_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Okay, I know, you might be thinking like 'What a long Wednesday that is!' or something like that, since yeah, I must admit that it went on for like three chapters! I'm really sorry! As I've said, this is the second part of chapter six… But anyway, please submit more reviews, thank you!! And, more importantly, thanks for reading! And yeah, please tell me if Atobe is OOC here--'coz I think I made him a bit like that this time... **God Bless us all!!** xD

* * *

Thank you for those who reviewed, I really appreciate your efforts SO MUCH!! And also to those who included me or this story in their favorites or alert list!! Thanks guys!! xD

**I.Hate.Running!!** Thanks a lot for reviewing again!! I'm very, very glad that you like my story!!

**darkxXxflames!** You're a Filipina too? Wah, I hate you! Why did you only tell me now?! Hahaha... Sorry, if the romance is a bit slow-paced... I guess I simply have a knack for slow paced romance, mas kinikilig kasi ako sa mga ganun eh! Haha... But I'll try to spice it up later... Thanks for always submitting reviews! And I'm from Caloocan City... How about you??


	8. Chapter 8: A Mysterious Persona

Hi!! **Please review!!** **Thanks!! God bless!!**

**Enjoy!! xD**

* * *

Romaji meanings:

'baka' - idiot

'gomen' - sorry

'Ja!' - 'See ya!'

* * *

**Chapter Eight: A Mysterious Persona  
**

It was a fine Thursday noon, and class 2-8 had just finished taking their Social Studies exam.

"Meiko-chan, what score did you get?" Momo curiously asked his seatmate. There was a small frown on his face hinting that he did not do very well in their exam.

"84, how about you?" Meiko answered as she took a sad glance on her paper and turned to Momo.

"77. Ah…you always get good grades," Momo praised, his eyes not leaving his paper.

Meiko's sad expression turned into a giggle. "Momo, almost all of our classmates got a line of nine," she reminded him as she folded her paper and inserted it in her book.

"You have a point…" Momo replied, grinning. He had finally recovered also. He folded his paper and threw it inside his bag.

"Ne, 'guess who I encountered again yesterday?" Meiko cheerfully asked as she placed the book inside her body bag.

"Saeki-san," Momo teased instantly as they stood up and bade goodbye to their teacher.

"Not him, baka!" Meiko said, blushing a bit. "It's Monkey King again! Oh, I forgot that I've decided to call him 'Atobe-senpai' from now on," Meiko said when their teacher took his leave. "I'll tell you on the way to the cafeteria…"

--

"Really?! Wow, who would've thought that Atobe-san would ever do those things," Momo wondered aloud as they were climbing down the stairs towards the cafeteria. Then, his surprised look turned into a sly one. "He must like you," he teased, but toning down his voice so that only the two of them would hear.

"Of course not, Momo! Do you want me to strangle you and feed you to the snakes?" Meiko quickly said. She really hated being teased about such things—it makes her feel uncomfortable and awkward.

"You're exaggerating as always," Momo remarked, grinning. "But why to the snakes? Feed me to anything but snakes! You know I hate them," he loudly complained, remembering the viper, or rather, his rival.

"That's exactly why I chose them," Meiko replied, laughing. "You're also exaggerating. No wonder we're best friends."

"Eh? Come to think of it…" Momo thought aloud.

"Meiko-chan, Momo," a soft voice called as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

The two of them turned their heads at the direction of the voice.

"Oh, Syusuke-kun," Meiko greeted when she saw the smiling tensai.

"Fuji-senpai, shouldn't you be upstairs?" Momo curiously asked.

"Saa...I just wanted to see my favorite girl, Momo," he answered, smiling. "Are you going to the cafeteria?"

"Eh. Do you want to come with us?" Meiko cheerfully invited. On the side of her eyes she can see many girls looking at their direction, or rather, to the direction of the ever-smiling prince. Shivers went down her spine as she felt a pair of eyes staring fixedly at her.

"That would be a good idea," Fuji answered. There was a little trace of discomfort on his face.

"Let's go then. I'll also share to you a story," Meiko said, trying to sound cheerful as she took Fuji's arm.

--

"...which means that Meiko-chan would be meeting Atobe Keigo in the playground near Hyoutei Gakuen at exactly five thirty," Inui repeated, scribbling on his notebook. Their afternoon practice was just about to start and the regulars were doing some early warm-ups in the middle of the courts.

"Ah. But knowing Meiko-chan, she'd probably arrive there fifteen minutes late," Momo said as he stretched his arms to the right and then to the left.

"Don't you think it's weird, nya? It seems like Meiko-chan and Hyoutei's Atobe always get a reason to meet," Kikumaru commented while twirling his racket on his hand.

Momo grinned widely. "Heh. Could it be destiny?" he dramatically suggested.

Oishi, who was busily observing them practice, frowned. "Oi, you two, don't be so loud," he told the two whose faces were grinning deviously.

"Oishi's right; don't say such things," Fuji agreed. He was smiling, but a hint of uneasiness was glinting from his face.

"Ah, gomen, gomen," the two apologized and resumed their warm-up.

Echizen, who was unusually early, was only half-listening to his senpai-tachi while doing the sit-and-reach exercise when something caught his eye.

"Looks like someone's watching you, Fuji-senpai," he quietly said as he pulled down the brim of his cap.

The other regulars (except Fuji) looked at him, then, as if understanding, they secretly stole glances at a _specific _spot some meters behind Fuji. And there she was—a raven-haired girl staring intently at the tensai. No, she wasn't Meiko.

"So I've _sensed,_" Fuji replied, his face wearing a serious look.

--

"Atobe-senpai! Sorry if I'm late! I kinda got lost," Meiko apologized as she got near the Hyoutei buchou who was leaning on the pole of a swing.

"You're always so slow," Atobe bluntly replied, remembering how she ate and ran so slowly the day before. He stood up straight and faced her, his heart was beating rapidly again, but he tried hard not to pay attention to it.

Meiko's smile turned into a frown. "Thanks for the very warm greeting, senpai! I also _missed_ you so much!" Meiko sarcastically said before glaring at him.

Atobe stared back at her but quickly looked away after two seconds. He planned to stare at her until she gives up and looks away, but it seemed like his heart won't let him.

Meiko tilted her head and looked sideways. She found it unusual for Atobe to give up on a glaring match, so she thought that he might be feeling guilty for what he said—and that _lame _deduction quickly lightened Meiko's mood.

"Here you are," she said, handing him his folded jacket and pants. "I didn't leave them soaked for long this time, so they're not discolored," she cheerfully assured him.

Atobe took them and raised them in level with his shoulder. A guy wearing black suit appeared and took it from him, much to Meiko's surprise. But before she could react, Atobe spoke first.

"Which means that you left Ore-sama's shirt soaked for a long time?" he asked though he already knew the answer.

Meiko looked away guiltily and faked a laugh. "Oh, what are you talking about? It's not like I intentionally slept and left it soaked overnight because I was angry at you or something—," she stopped, and then bit her lip. She can't believe she just gave herself away.

Atobe chuckled, actually, he was close to laughing. He didn't really expect her to confess like that.

Meiko shot him a death glare. "If you've got nothing more to say, I'm going ahead now. Ja!"

"Oi, Tsukushi," Atobe called before Meiko could turn around.

"What is it, senpai?" Meiko asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"How was your exam?" Atobe asked. He also went to so much trouble for that Social Studies exam, anyway. He even taught her some things.

Meiko looked surprised. "M-My exam? Well, I, uh, it was...okay," she answered, looking tensed.

Atobe smirked. "Ore-sama bets that you didn't even a get a line of nine," he teased. He remembered her asking a lot of questions the previous night, he even wondered if she was listening during class.

"Eh? W-Well… Oh, why are you so curious?! It's none of your business!" she snapped.

"There's no use denying the obvious," he teased further, enjoying the embarrassed and annoyed look on her face.

Meiko glared at him. It would be the death of her to see Atobe's reaction if he learned that she only got a score of 84 when 60 percent of her classmates got a line of nine. It was actually an easy exam, thanks to their newly-wedded teacher.

"Shut up! Find someone else to talk to! I'm gonna be late for my movie-watching with Syusuke-kun," she said, determined to finish talking about her exam quickly.

Atobe was about to flip his hair when he heard her last sentence. His right hand stopped just as it reached his hair. He felt annoyed again, but decided not to show it.

"You seem to be really close with that tensai," he said, trying to look indifferent and barely conscious that he had already placed his hand inside his pocket.

Meiko, relieved with the sudden change of topic, readily answered. "Eh, I'm really grateful that I know him," she confirmed, a genuine smile forming on her lips.

Atobe felt another twinge in his heart.

"Ore-sama thought so…" he replied, looking away.

--

"Fuji Syusuke, can we talk?" A raven-haired girl straightforwardly asked when the Seigaku regulars approached the school gate after their practice. She was obviously waiting there for them—or rather, for _him._

The nine regulars were obviously caught surprised.

Momo and Kaidoh, who were bickering as usual, looked at her with startled eyes.

Oishi, who was trying to stop their fight, froze and stared at her in between their heads.

Kikumaru's hand rested on top of Echizen's head (since he was just on the act of nudging it) as he turned towards the girl.

Echizen, who was very annoyed while bending a little because of his senpai's hand, also looked up at her.

Inui was taken aback at first but hurriedly took out his notebook and furiously scribbled on it.

Kawamura looked at the girl anxiously while the stoic Tezuka simply stared at her with a straight face.

Fuji's smile disappeared for a second but came back instantly.

"Saa... Nami-chan, do you need something from me?" Fuji kindly asked, acting as if he didn't know what was coming.

"Eh. Please follow me," she answered authoritatively as she walked towards the side of the school.

"Oi, have more respect to your senpai…" Momo muttered.

"It's okay, Momo," Fuji assured him, still wearing a smile. "I guess I won't be able to walk home with you guys since I'll be talking with her…_alone_." Fuji said the last word so menacingly that the regulars, with the possible exception of Tezuka, felt the hair at the back of their necks stand up. Fuji seriously wanted to talk to her alone, and they were sure that they'd be dead—as in literally dead—if they try to spy.

"Will Fuji be okay, nya? Nami-chan can be a bit scary..." Kikumaru worriedly said as they watched the two walk away.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Fuji would be able to handle the situation," Oishi assured them though he was not sure himself. "Ne, Tezuka?"

"Ah. Fuji will be okay," Tezuka quietly said as he gazed at the two. "Let's go."

And the eight regulars hesitantly turned around and walked home.

--

Meiko frowned at Atobe's reply. "Oi, senpai, do you usually space out?"

"What?" Atobe asked as he looked back at her.

"You were just spacing out, weren't you?" Meiko repeated. "Really, spacing out when talking to someone…" she muttered, looking at him and acting annoyed.

"Ore-sama never spaces out, there are just a number of important things that Ore-sama needs to think about," Atobe arrogantly replied, trying to cover up for his action.

"Whatever. Kid yourself," Meiko retorted, rolling her eyes. She glanced at him, and then felt guilty. He wasn't really doing anything bad at her when she teased him, so she scanned her mind (again) for something to talk about. But before she could think of anything, her cellphone rang.

"Eh?! You won't be able to meet up with me later? Oh, what a pity... but anyway, we could just watch it another time. Okay. See ya!" Meiko voiced out before ending the call. Fuji just canceled their 'date'.

"Ahh... Syusuke-kun just canceled our date," Meiko sadly said. She's quite straightforward, yes. And then suddenly, very suddenly actually, an idea hit her.

"Ne, are you going to walk me home?" she asked while wearing a sneaky smile. She was not really serious with the question.

Atobe looked at her. He knew that she was just teasing, but something made him play along. "You wanna walk again?" he asked, fighting the blush that was slowly creeping on his cheeks.

"Eh?" Meiko was taken aback—she didn't really expect him to agree…well, she wasn't really sure if he was agreeing.

"Why ask Ore-sama to repeat when you heard it pretty well?" Atobe asked, his eyebrows curled.

"Why are you always so moody?!" Meiko complained, frowning at him. Then she smiled. "Are you really going to walk me home?" she asked cheerfully.

Atobe's eyebrows twitched and he felt like massaging his temples. And she had the nerve to say that he was moody.

--

"I'm sure you know exactly why I want to talk to you," Nami instantly said as soon as they arrived at the side of the school building. The time was a quarter to six, and no one could be seen at that area.

"I'm sorry, Nami-chan, but I don't think I know what you're talking about," Fuji pretended not to know.

"Don't play dumb, Fuji-san," she said impatiently. Then, she looked at Fuji in the eyes, her bitter look changing to a hurt, sincere one. "You know I—"

* * *

_**05/24/08, 05:33 PM**_

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**Author's Notes:** **PLEASE REVIEW!! ****Let's all THANK THE LORD!! GOD BLESS!!** xD

Oh, and yeah, I've written my **sources** on my profile page!! I've also included there the **time line** of my story, and I plan to update it every time I post a new chapter!! xD

* * *

To the **Filipinos** reading this fic: Salamat sa inyo! Sana ituloy niyo lang ang pagsuporta dito! Pasensya na kung nabitin kayo!! Hahaha...

**Airashii Mochidzuki**: Thanks a lot! Really? You didn't think that Meiko was a Mary Sue before? Well, I'm very glad!!

**angelazabini**: Wow, what a coincidence! I'm taking up BS Business Administration and Accountancy!! We'll be in the same college if ever!x D

**darkxXxflames:** I'm glad you don't find the story too slow! But I'm afraid that I may be too much amused with slow-paced stories that I might make it too slow for its own good... Please remind me when that happens!! Thanks a lot!!

**GwangFei**: Thanks for the review you submitted for Chapter Six!! I agree, we should say 'aw...' because Atobe cared!! Ahaha... And yeah, you have a point with the 'Tsukushi' thing! Ahaha...

**hai-chan13 and kiyoshi kozue: **Wow! New readers! I'm so happeeee!! Glad you like my story!!

**narutodaisuke93:** Thanks for the encouragement!! I really hope I can do better than this! Ahaha... Thanks a lot!!

**Resonance Breaks Glass:** Thanks for that constructive review! I'm not sure if you're still continuing on reading this but, anyway, I still want to thank you now!!

**To all the other people who submitted reviews**: Thanks a lot! I love you guys, and hope you continue supporting my first-ever fic!! I hope that I'll never disappoint you by going below your expectations, so please don't expect much!! Ahaha... Just joking! It should be the other way around--it's supposed to be me who should be working very hard to meet up with your expectations!! Ahaha... Sorry if wasn't able to send a PM to some of you guys, it's because I got kinda confused as to whom I've already sent PM's to so I don't know who I still need to send PM's to anymore!! Oh, was that kind of baffling?! I'm really, really sorry! **Thanks again and GOD BLESS!! PRAISE THE LORD!!** Wooh!!


	9. Chapter 9: The Unexpected Revelation

I've posted the **time line** of this story on my profile page... check it out if you're interested!!

Please submit** reviews**!! I need them so much!! **Thanks!!** **GOD BLESS!!** xD

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Romaji meanings:

'baka' - idiot

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Unexpected Revelation**

"Oi, Atobe-senpai…" Meiko started, feeling bored with the silence as they walked.

Atobe just glanced at her. He was tired of her usual out-of-nowhere calls; besides, there were a lot of things drifting in his mind…like reflecting on his feelings.

"Is something bothering you?" Meiko asked, looking at him concernedly.

"It's none of your business," Atobe returned her earlier sentence back to her. There was no way he was gonna share his 'thoughts' with her.

Meiko pouted but quickly recovered. "I know of an excellent way to make your troubles go away—it's even more effective than alcohol or drugs," Meiko said in a manner that appeared to him as if she would be sneakily sharing a very important top-secret medication that could cure every single illness on Earth. Wait, when did he become so exaggerated in thinking?

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyebrows slightly curled.

"Come with me," Meiko slyly said as she grabbed his wrist and ran.

--

"I'm sure you already know that, but you act like you don't! You act like you don't care!" Nami screamed at Fuji.

Fuji looked at her; pity could be traced in his eyes. He knew such confrontation would soon happen, but he felt like he wasn't ready for it yet.

"I'm sorry, Nami-chan. But you have to understand—it's not love that you're feeling, it's just so much admiration," Fuji gently said, trying not to anger the girl further.

"I don't care if it's love or admiration or whatever it is I'm feeling! All I know is that I don't like seeing the two of you together! It hurts!" Nami shouted. Tears started falling from her eyes.

"Nami-chan…" Fuji's voice trailed off. He wasn't sure what to say to calm her down and make her understand.

--

"Achoo!" Meiko sneezed after taking a bite of her ice cream cone. She and Atobe were walking on a shortcut leading to her house.

"Don't tell Ore-sama you got sick because of the rain last night?" Atobe asked incredulously as he looked at the girl. Not even a drop of rain fell on her head, so why should she be sick?

"Of course not! I'm not that weak, excuse me," she answered after sniffing.

"That's not what Ore-sama witnessed," he annoyed her further, trying to remind her of her 'collapse' on a certain street tennis court. He flipped his hair, and then turned his eyes towards _his_ ice cream. He should have known that her 'medication' would be nothing but ice cream.

Meiko glared at him. Then, something entered her mind.

"Ah!" she exclaimed loudly. "Someone must be thinking about me…oh, this popularity of mine!"

Atobe stared dully on the road ahead, then looked at her. "Ore-sama _insists_ that you're sick," he said, not caring which of the two meanings of 'being sick' his statement implied. It could be both, for all he knew.

Meiko giggled. "I was just trying to make you laugh, you know? I can't accept that some human being can't be cured by ice cream. Oh, I can't believe I forgot—you're a monkey after all. I guess it's okay then…"

Atobe glared at her. 'Oi. For the last time, Ore-sama isn't a Monkey King, clumsy girl."

"That's really the last time you'll be forbidding me? I'm so happy, Monkey King," Meiko teased.

Atobe looked annoyed, and then he smirked. "Ore-sama is glad that you're happy, _dehydrating milk fish_."

Meiko's mouth was halfway open when what he said registered on her mind. "Oi! I'm not a dehydrating milk fish, baka!"

Atobe flipped his hair. "That's the way to do it, eh?"

Meiko threw one last glare at him and quietly took a bite of her ice cream.

--

"Fuji-san, please…just tell me, what is your real relationship with Tsukushi-chan?"

Fuji sadly looked away.

"If you tell me now, I promise I'll leave you two alone. Just tell me the truth," she pleaded, her eyes sending more tears to fall.

"I'm sorry, Nami-chan. I can't tell you."

"Why not?! It's not like I would tell anyone! Fuji-san—"

"Nami-chan… Don't do this to yourself…"

--

"Oi, Atobe-senpai," she reverted to calling him by his name since she hated being called a 'dehydrating milk fish.' Who would want to be anyway? Just envision a milk fish giving its last ounces of energy to move its head and tail a bit, hoping to go back to the sea—that's the 'dehydrating milk fish' that Meiko imagines. And, of all the names anyone could ever think of, that has to be the lamest, right?

"Are you popular in your school?" Meiko suddenly asked out of the blue...well, maybe _not so_ out of the blue.

"Ore-sama is famous everywhere. Why do you ask?" Atobe arrogantly replied.

Meiko almost choked.

"Fine, whatever, if you say so," she muttered, showing how disgusted she was with his overconfidence. She looked at him; he seemed normal with saying such things. Oh well, they're absolutely on different leagues. "But you're not having much problems with your fan girls?" she asked.

"Ore-sama has the power to control them," he answered indifferently.

"Really? Good for you. You know what, I'm not that popular—I only receive a fair number of flowers and chocolates during White Day—but I'm having really big problems with my only fan girl," she replied before taking another bite of her ice cream.

Atobe flipped his hair. "Ore-sama can give you tips on how to—" Atobe stopped. He felt something wasn't right. "Did you just say fan _girl_?"

--

"You know I like _her_ so much, but why aren't you being honest with me?" Nami asked, trying hard to hold back the tears that were filling her eyes.

"Nami-chan, as I've said, you only admire her; you don't love her. That's why you dyed your hair with—"

"I told you, I DON'T CARE! Just answer me, okay? I don't need your pity! I don't need your words of comfort! All I need is an honest answer! If you give it to me, whatever that answer is, I promise I won't trouble any of you anymore!" she helplessly bellowed at him.

Fuji kept quiet for a moment, contemplating deeply. "Meiko-chan is very important in my life," he finally answered. "She's…"

--

Meiko smiled at Atobe's surprised face. "Eh. I just said fan _girl_."

Atobe's eyebrows curled. "Are you playing a joke on Ore-sama?" He just can't believe it.

"No, I'm not. I'm dead serious here, okay?" she answered. "Syusuke-kun told me that you're popular and all, but you appear to have no problems in controlling your fan girls, so I decided to ask you."

Atobe flinched at the sound of his rival's, I mean, the tensai's name, but chose to ignore it. "What kind of problems?"

"Hmmm… During the second term of last year, my fan girl, who was also my classmate back then, kept on stalking me, placing love notes in my locker, desk, and even in my bag. Then, she found out where I was living and always left flowers, chocolates, and other kinds of gifts in my mailbox. At first, she didn't confront me or anything; she usually avoided me whenever we see each other, though I could feel that she was frequently staring at me. And then, just at the end of the previous academic year, she somehow got the confidence and confessed to me—you don't know how afraid and awkward I felt—and then she got my phone number and was constantly calling me, sending me text messages, and stuff like that. I decided to end it and confronted her one day; I thought she already understood after that. But no, just after some days, she started doing all those things again—and with more aggression," Meiko continuously shared with feelings. "Oh, sorry. Was I too fast?"

"No, continue," Atobe quickly answered. True, it was fast; but this is Atobe we're talking about, his brain processes faster than average. He even felt slightly annoyed that she stopped; he was kind of interested in her story.

"Okay. So then, I really thought hard about it 'coz I was really getting more and more anxious and scared with every minute that passed. I'm not the type of person who finds it easy to befriend someone who I know likes me, so I found it terribly awkward to even just see her. I also told it to my friends; luckily, I was already a bit close to the Seigaku tennis team regulars since last year—first, because of my ever dearest childhood friend Syusuke-kun who was also the reason why I entered Seigaku in the first place (Atobe's eyebrows twitched as it entered his ears); second, because of my best friend Momo; and third, because last year, I was assigned to be their team manager for a whole month as punishment for—oh, it's not really important. Anyway, they helped me devise a plan, and it's actually going on up until now."

"What kind of plan?" Atobe instantly asked.

"You seem very absorbed," Meiko teased, giggling.

Atobe shot her a very annoyed look.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized. "Anyway, the plan was—" Meiko stopped. "Oh, we're already here," she said, looking at a blue-painted house that was where she lived in.

Atobe's eyebrows twitched. He _sooo_ wanted to _poke _her cute head and _sway _her back and forth for constantly cutting off.

Meiko turned to him. "Shall I continue?" she asked innocently.

Atobe fought very hard the urge to massage his temples in irritation. "You don't really plan to end it there after you've gone this far, right?" he asked in the most controlled voice he can muster.

"No, that wasn't the plan," Meiko quickly replied. "Why don't we go inside—?"

"Just continue, okay?!" Atobe almost shouted, looking as if he wanted to make her run 500 laps.

Meiko gulped. He looked even scarier than when they were quarreling. "O-Okay, if you're so interested…"

Atobe blushed—he indeed made it too obvious that he was interested.

"Anyway, the plan was 'Operation Deceit!', and it really includes an exclamation point," Meiko informed him as she sat on the slightly elevated part below the gate of her house. Atobe stood beside her and leaned against the wall, his hands over his chest.

"It doesn't really matter," Atobe quietly replied, somehow succeeding in controlling his impatience.

"This 'Operation Deceit!' was devised by the ten of us, including Tezuka-senpai; even if he appears stoic, he's a real gentleman (Meiko inserted another unnecessary information much to Atobe's irritation—he just _simply_ didn't care about how gentlemanly Tezuka was); also, this plan really drew me closer to all of them. Yeah, I know, sorry about that. So, as I was saying, though there were ten brains behind it, the other eight's roles were just mainly like secret-keepers; there were only two main characters, or _actors_, to put it better."

"Actors?"

"Eh, actors. Basically, the two of us pretended to have a 'sparks flying between us' kind of relationship. We usually go out, smile at each other, and such; and mind you, we always notice her around—she was actually there when we met for the second time in front of the restaurant. The 'act' felt kind of awkward at first, but I got used to it easily. We thought of that plan since my stalker, Minami Sakura—who prefers to be called 'Nami' since she claims that 'Sakura' is too girly for her own taste…well, I don't know about her but I find that name cute—anyway, she once told me that she'll only leave me alone if she saw that I'm happily together with another person, whether it was a boy or a girl…but I'm straight so I guess it'd be a boy," she shared, pondering a bit over the last part.

"You sound like you're not sure," Atobe remarked, chuckling.

"Of course not!" she defended herself. "Oh, and yeah, my leading man is—"

--

--

"…like a real sister to me."

--

--

"Fuji Syusuke," Atobe continued for her, smirking. He wasn't sure why but he felt really happy and light after hearing the story. He was indeed too happy that he forgot his annoyance with Meiko's _extremely unnecessary_ side comments.

"You're quite sharp. How did you know that?" Meiko asked; surprised that he correctly guessed who it was. She's a little bit on the slow side, eh?

Atobe smirked. "Don't underestimate Ore-sama," he said while flipping his hair. "Ore-sama supposes that your plan worked and is still working since you're still carrying on with it."

"Hmmm… it worked on the first month—that's May, but after that and up until now, we feel like she already doubts our 'act' since we notice her stare at us again, we see her everywhere, and the like. But, she hasn't done anything bad yet—and I hope she won't…ever," Meiko replied.

"Why don't you just report her?" Atobe asked.

"That would be too cruel. It's not like she has assaulted me or any of us, and I don't think she will. She's not that bad," Meiko answered.

Atobe smirked. "You're too foolish. Don't tell Ore-sama that you're gonna wait for something bad to happen before you act? That's not a wise thing to do," he said, looking down at the sitting girl.

Meiko tilted her head. "I think most people would prefer saying that I'm too _kind_... and well… I don't know," she shifted back to her usual perky self. "We can't really blame her if she got struck by my prowess, eh?" she joked.

If Atobe was an ordinary person, he would have acted like throwing up, but since he's the narcissistic, always-poised Atobe Keigo-sama, he prevented himself from doing so.

"You sure got a lot of confidence," he commented while smirking, well aware that he frequently uses a similar line.

"Not as ample as yours," she replied with a teasing smile as she stood up. "Thanks for listening, by the way. Even though my friends know about this, it still feels better to share this to someone else. You see, no one knows about this aside from my fellow conspirators and my closest friends, so don't dare tell this to anyone, 'kay?"

"Ore-sama doesn't gossip, it's he who people gossip about," Atobe arrogantly answered.

Meiko laughed. "No matter how hard I try, I really can't beat you when it comes to arrogance. _You're just a natural_," she teased.

"Ore-sama is just telling the truth," he said while flipping his hair.

"Then you're the most truthful person I've ever met," Meiko said, still laughing. "Well, at least you're in a good mood now. I guess the effect of ice cream in monkeys—I mean, in kings—are kind of delayed."

Atobe smirked despite hearing the word 'monkeys'. "Ore-sama is going ahead now," he said, breaking away from the wall.

"Okay. Be careful on your way. See ya!" Meiko cheerfully bade.

"Ah," Atobe replied. He placed his hands inside his pockets as he walked away. Her voice echoed inside his head. 'See ya!'

Of course, they'll be seeing each other again…

* * *

_**05/26/08, 6:59 PM**_

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**Author's Notes:** Hi! Are you a bit surprised? Hehe... I just wanted something unique and unusual... Ahaha...Don't worry, this won't turn out into a girl-girl something; this will remain an AtobexOC fic! Anyway, **please review! Thanks! GOD BLESS!! **xD

The dialogue of Meiko in some parts might be a bit confusing—I intentionally did that, though I also tried not to make it so baffling... xD If you've got any questions with it or if there are some parts which you don't understand, **please feel free to ask me!!**

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who submitted reviews and included me in their favorites or story alerts!! I love all of you!! xD GOD BLESS!!**

I remember your review **darkxXxflames **when you said that you like that my story's "not dragging like where there's a (character) that's  
ranting out everything in one paragraph..." So a big sorry if I made Meiko rant out the story about her female stalker, it's just that I found it cuter and funnier that way... And I hope you were surprised... xP Thanks for always giving me comments and suggestions! Ahaha...

Thank you **hai-chan13** for commenting about that paragraph... As I've told you in my PM, I also found that a bit draggy but I got lazy so I didn't edit it much. I'm always so lazy!! Sorry about that... And, from now on, I'll try proofreading my works twice before posting them!! xD

**Airashii Mochidzuki**: Thanks for the review!! Sorry!! Hope you didn't become impatient in waiting!! And you have a point that "Someone would probably bump into a Mary Sue. Not the other way around." Ahaha... Thanks for that also!!

**angelazabini**: Sorry for making you wait and for the cliffhanger!! And I also wish that you'll end up in the same college as I'm in now!! xD

**I.Hate.Running:** So that's why you weren't leaving reviews!! I thought you already ran away from my fic!! Oh sorry, I forgot that you hate running... xD And why did you throw rocks at me?! It hurt very much!! Ahaha... Thanks for the reviews! And sorry for the cliffhanger...


	10. Chapter 10: A Heart's Realization

Hi guys! I posted this chapter so that you won't miss me much although I'm in a break!! xD

Wow! **I.Hate.Running** was able to guess the twist in the story!! An ice cream for you! Here!! Ahaha…

Okay, so here we go:

From Seigaku, let's switch to… (dandararandaran…) Hyoutei!!

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Romaji meanings:

'Hai.' – Yes.

'Iie.' – No.

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**Chapter Ten: A Heart's Realization  
**

The sun was glistening over the heads of the Hyoutei tennis club members as they carried out their Monday afternoon practice. Sweat plummeted from their bodies as they struggled to keep up with the impatience of their hot-headed buchou.

"Shishido! Twenty laps for being late!" Atobe shouted as the dash specialist came late for tennis practice. Why did those guys have to be so burdensome just when Atobe was busy balancing academics, student council presidency, tennis team captaincy, and of course, his love life?

"Che. Atobe shouldn't mix his responsibilities in the student council with our practice," Shishido muttered as he placed his racquet on a bench and started running.

Unfortunately, Atobe-buchou heard him. "Ten more laps! Shishido!"

Shishido was left with no other choice but to grumble to himself.

"Buchou must be really busy with the upcoming event on Saturday; he seems so impatient and in deep thought," Ohtori worriedly remarked as he watched his doubles partner run his laps.

"You know him, he's the greatest diva of all times. He didn't act like that in last month's major event, what's the difference this time? He's very unpredictable," Gakuto replied, looking at the preoccupied buchou.

Oshitari adjusted his glasses. _'No,'_ he thought. _'Atobe is not that unpredictable, I'm sure something different is up…'_

Though in deep thought, Atobe still heard what Ohtori and Gakuto said. He must admit that they have a point and that they may just be concerned about him…but talking about non-tennis-related stuff is STRICTLY PROHIBITED inside the courts. "Ohtori! Mukahi! Twenty laps for talking during practice!" he yelled at them.

"H-Hai!"

Don't mess up with Atobe when his heart misses someone, he simply won't forgive you.

--

"Saa…we're here," Fuji said as they reached the gate of a huge school.

"Eh. Thanks a lot!" Meiko cheerfully replied.

"It's nothing. Good luck," he smilingly said.

"Thank you. I'm actually quite nervous, but I'll do my best," Meiko said, her face showing that 'quite nervous' is an understatement.

"I'm sure you'll do great. Are you sure you don't want me to wait for you?"

"Eh. Don't worry, Reika's also here," she assured him.

"If that's what you want," Fuji quietly said. He was smiling, but Meiko felt that his mind was distant.

Meiko frowned. "Hey, is there something on your mind? You seem lost," she observed, looking carefully at his face.

"Iie. Don't mind me." Fuji answered.

Meiko pouted. He was obviously hiding something, but she knew better than to meddle with it. It's best to leave the tensai alone during such times. "If you need me, don't hesitate to call me, huh?" she said, looking honestly concerned.

Fuji smiled reassuringly. "Saa… you just stole my line. Call me if you need me."

Meiko smiled back. "Okay! Be careful on your way," she cheerfully replied. "See ya!"

--

"Welcome. Since all of you are here now, let's start by watching each team perform its respective choreographed dance. First group to perform—Seigaku," Takahashi Nanako, coach of a certain cheer dancing team, instructed as cheer dancers from three different schools gathered in a school auditorium.

"Hai!"

--

"…like a real sister to me."

The words echoed on Fuji's mind like the sound of falling rain amidst a dark, quiet night. He was silently walking his way home, drowned with endless thoughts that befuddled even the tensai in him. Not once in eight years did he place a single doubt in those words... Not once? Fuji lowered his gaze to the ground. Not once… No, not once did he ponder over his lingering emotions in the cold past. Why? Why didn't he reflect on those feelings that had yearned to reveal themselves for so long? He contemplated. It was a wrong answer…and a wrong question. It wasn't that he was not aware of his heart's sentiments; it wasn't that he didn't realize the need—the aching in his soul—to accept what was predestined, to recognize what was fated. It was because he was scared—frightened to admit that behind that mask of a smiling face, beyond the act of stalker-deceit, was an unrequited love of a brother for his sister. He allowed himself to be blinded from what he had already discerned throughout those years. He tolerated the smiling and sadistic tensai to trick him into believing that his feelings were no more than a simple brotherly love, that what was actuality was untrue, that what was reality was merely a dream.

"…like a real sister to me."

Fuji opened his eyes. It was that bewildering confrontation that opened his heart to what existed in reality and what subsisted in his shaded consciousness. From the moment that those pretentious words came out of his lips, from the instance that he bared what he used to deem as unspeakable; he was positive that he sensed a dreadfully strange feeling inside him. A feeling of uncertainty, a suspicion of dishonesty—not just to Nami, but also to himself...

"…like a real sister to me."

Fuji gazed upwards at the afternoon sky. It looked very peaceful, as peaceful as his mind used to be before that mystifying incident. Peaceful? He was wrong again. His mind had never been peaceful because his heart kept on bugging it. A cheerful face flashed on his head. He felt lost, he felt confused; and it was one of the rare occasions wherein a hint of the thoughts of Fuji Syuusuke—yes, the deeper Fuji Syuusuke and not the sardonic tensai—could be traced from his exterior. He looked back at the direction of the school, recalling the cheery voice and lively attitude that had never failed to put a smile on the face beneath the facade.

"…like a real sister to me."

A transparent realization came to him—he had always been her brother, but she was never his sister…

--

"You two, I believe you're already through with your performance. Could you do me a favor?" Takahashi-sensei asked the two girls who were busily chatting in the audience area.

"No problem, sensei. What is it?" the cheerful girl asked.

--

"Oi, Oshitari! Just because you're a senior doesn't mean you can take things easily! Concentrate—," Atobe cut off when he felt someone tap his shoulder. "200 LAPS! NOW!!" he bellowed angrily as he turned to look at the person who _pushed_ him.

"W-What the…I-I'm not even part of…O-OI! I'M NOT EVEN PART OF YOUR TEAM! WHY MAKE ME RUN LAPS?!" the person who tapped him protested, shifting her mood from startled to incredulous and annoyed.

Their exchange of shouts seized the attention of the other players around.

Atobe blinked. He blinked again. "T-Tsukushi, why are you here?" he asked, his heart skipping a beat.

Meiko's anger quickly faded (as usual). "For the G.A. this Saturday!" she happily chirped. "I'm part of the Seigaku cheer dancing team, so obviously, I'm here for rehearsals," she added brightly. Then, she curiously looked around and observed the courts. "Your practice seems to be really tough, but why so angry?"

Atobe could not believe his ears. Tsukushi Meiko—part of the cheer dancing team? The Tsukushi who _clumsily_ bumped into him twice, the Tsukushi who fainted after their unfinished match, the Tsukushi who liked teasing him endlessly—a member of the Seigaku Cheer Dancing Squad?

"Are you trying to fool Ore-sama?" Atobe asked her in disbelief.

Meiko looked at him reproachfully. "No one's born without talent, you know. How cruel…" she answered, looking offended.

Atobe felt guilty when he saw her reaction, but before he could say anything else, he heard Gakuto mutter something.

"Aren't outsiders prohibited inside the courts?" the red-head _loudly_ asked Shishido and Ohtori as they ran their laps, and Atobe was sure that he intentionally made them hear that.

"Oh, is it prohibited?" Meiko asked, hearing Gakuto's 'objection.' "Sorry then. It's just that, your cheer dancing team would be performing in like two minutes and the tape of their song is missing. We were asked by Takahashi-sensei to ask your coach if he's got a copy of the CD," she explained. "And that's my friend over there, talking to your coach," she added, pointing to a beautiful girl talking to Coach Sakaki.

"She's pretty," Oshitari remarked, looking at the girl but glancing at her legs at the same time.

"Of course," Meiko agreed, smiling. "Your coach is admirable, being a music teacher and a tennis coach at the same time," she remarked, turning again to Atobe.

"A-Ah," he answered, blushing and feeling his heart beat ever-so-rapidly.

His teammates, especially the regulars, were surprised. Weren't they just quarreling terribly a week ago? But right at that moment, they were acting like long-time friends and Atobe's mood even seemed to lighten; although they were wondering why his face was getting red. Only Oshitari seemed to have an idea regarding their captain's strange behavior. However, no matter how curious they were, Gakuto won't simply stay quiet.

"I really thought outsiders are prohibited inside the courts. But oh well, he's the captain anyway, he has the right to _break the rules_," Gakuto muttered noisily again. He was annoyed with Atobe for making him run laps, and he was definitely in no good terms with Meiko.

Meiko glared at him. "Fine, I know. Thanks for reminding me, and please enjoy your laps," she snapped at him.

"Be more respectful to your senpai!" Gakuto childishly shouted at her.

"Why, do you even know what year I'm in now?! And you're one to talk, you should be more gentle to girls," she answered back sarcastically.

"Meiko, let's go," Meiko's friend called her suddenly, making Gakuto's mouth stop in midair.

"Okay!" Meiko cheerfully replied. "I'm going now. Reika's calling me," she said, turning to Atobe and Oshitari. "See ya!" she bade as she walked towards the pretty girl.

Atobe watched her as she strode away, much to the interest of the Hyoutei tensai. Then, he ANGRILY turned to Gakuto.

"MUKAHI! ADDITIONAL FORTY LAPS! NOW!" Atobe shouted, suppressed irritation all over his face.

--

"Practice was very tiring…I'm so hungry," Meiko said as they walked outside the school building. The hands of the large wall clock showed that the time was six-thirty, and only a few number of students could be seen walking in the grounds.

"I agree. Who would've thought that there's a coach worse than our own?" Reika replied.

"Exactly. Ne, Reika, you'll be waiting for your driver?"

"No. I don't need to wait anymore," Reika answered as a car stopped in front of them. "C'mon. I'll give you a ride."

"Thanks but no need. There's a shortcut from here to my house that can only be trod by foot; besides, your route's different," Meiko gently declined.

"I don't mind," Reika said.

"It's really okay," Meiko assured her friend. She's just _super fond_ of walking her way home.

Reika stared at her for a few seconds. "If that's what you want. Be careful, okay?" she finally said.

"You too," Meiko replied, smiling. "See ya!"

"Hmmm…now, what flavor would I buy?" Meiko thought aloud as Reika's car drove off. She turned around while thinking when something caught her eye. She saw a guy and a girl talking to each other near the tennis courts. She didn't really want to snoop, but the guy just happened to be Atobe, and it made her _very_ curious.

"I'm sorry!" the girl tremblingly apologized as tears fell down from her eyes. Quickly, she turned around and ran away.

Meiko's eyes widened. She gulped. Just what exactly happened? But before she could think any further, Atobe turned his feet and saw her, and they were equally surprised.

Meiko looked away, feeling embarrassed and awkward.

Atobe narrowed his eyes on her. "Oi, do you have something to say?"

"E-Eh?" Meiko gulped again. "I-Iie, n-nothing much… I was just… uhmmm… thinking about what flavor of ice cream I would buy in my favorite store when I accidentally saw you—no, I mean, when I realized that I was walking in the wrong direction and—"

Atobe mentally sighed. "You're not making sense," he said bluntly.

Meiko glared at him. "Am I the one who's not making sense?" she asked him sharply. "Well, just to let you know, you're the one who's not making any sense here! Why aren't you running after your girlfriend?! She's crying! Don't you have any heart—?"

"Oi, who said she is Ore-sama's girlfriend?"

Meiko tilted her head. "Well…"

"She is _not_ Ore-sama's girlfriend, but she wanted to be and Ore-sama dumped her. You understand?" Atobe impatiently explained.

"You dumped her?!" Meiko asked incredulously, her feminine side overwhelming her. "But what's wrong with her? She's very pretty and…she looks nice!"

Atobe narrowed his eyes even more. "Ore-sama doesn't like her. And—," Atobe stopped when he felt Meiko slap his shoulder. "Oi, why did you do that for?"

"Do you know that you're insulting the female population by saying that? She's a wonderful example of a girl and yet—," Meiko cut off as she saw the look on Atobe's face. He looked irritated and…angry. She looked down on her feet and felt embarrassed. She acted exaggeratedly again.

Atobe was staring at her; feeling angry, disappointed, and hurt at the same time. Was she not feeling even a tiny tinge of jealousy? And she's even implying that he should have accepted the girl's offer.

"I-I'm sorry…" Meiko apologized nervously. "If you want, you can also hit or slap me as payment for what I've done," she slowly said, feeling really guilty.

Atobe stared weirdly at her. His anger vanished when he saw her embarrassedly guilty face.

"Toink."

"Ouch! Why did you hit me?!" Meiko shouted at him as she touched the top of her head. He just hit it with his fist, though not really forceful—it was just like him knocking on a door.

"Didn't you say Ore-sama can do that?"

"Doesn't mean you should!" Meiko bellowed at him. She looked at him for some moments, obviously annoyed, and then she giggled. "I didn't expect that."

Atobe smirked. "Don't say words you don't really mean—you might end up regretting them."

Meiko stared at him, wondering if there was another meaning beneath his words.

"Let's go," he said as he walked past her.

"Eh? Where to?" she confusedly asked, turning to him.

"To your favorite store," Atobe boringly answered, feeling too _red_ to stop and look at her.

--

"So delicious!" Meiko happily exclaimed as she took a spoonful of her Crumbled Chocolate Cookie Hot Fudge Ice Cream.

"Ore-sama told you he doesn't want to eat," Atobe dully said as he also took a spoonful of his Independence Day Ice Cream Sundae with Red Raspberry Sauce and Wild Blueberry Syrup. As expected, it was chosen by Meiko. "And this is too sweet."

"Of course it's sweet! It's ice cream!" Meiko cheerfully replied. "Besides, it's not fun if I'll be eating and you'll just be watching me while helplessly drooling."

"Ore-sama never drools," Atobe said. He flipped his hair. They're eating ice cream again.

"You know what? Ice cream was really hard!" Meiko said loudly. Then, she tilted her head, her eyebrows curled. "No, I mean _practice_ was really hard," she corrected herself.

Atobe chuckled. "That's what you get by endlessly thinking about ice cream."

Meiko glanced at him first before speaking. "As I was saying," she began, ignoring his comment. "Practice was really hard. Takahashi-sensei was scary and I felt like we'll all be dead after the performance—that is, if we'll even survive 'til that day."

"It's better that way," Atobe replied.

"I agree," she said, nodding. "Ne, senpai…"

Atobe just glanced at her. She's doing her frequent out-of-nowhere calls again—not that he disliked them.

"Senpai," Meiko called again, not looking at him but on her glass. "Senpai… Senpai. Senpai?"

A vein sprouted from Atobe's forehead. "Just say what you wanna say!"

Meiko looked at him, perplexed. "Will you be quiet? You're irritating."

Another vein sprouted from Atobe's forehead. And now he's the irritating one. He closed his eyes and restrained himself from raising an eyebrow. "Weren't you just calling Ore-sama repeatedly?"

"Eh? Hmmm… Just at first, then I decided to ponder over the word 'senpai' for a bit," she answered nonchalantly, taking yet another bite of her dessert.

Atobe mentally rolled his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You see, the only two persons older than me who I should call 'senpai' but I don't are Syuusuke-kun and Kojirou-kun," she shared.

Atobe narrowed his eyes. There's _another_ man again? "Who's Kojirou?"

"I think you might know him since he's also a tennis club regular and in the same grade as you are. His full name is Saeki Kojirou, he's from Rokkaku Chuu," Meiko said while happily feeding herself with another spoonful.

A guy wearing a Rokkaku Chuu's jersey flashed on Atobe's head. "You're right. Ore-sama knows him."

Meiko nodded. "I'm not sure if you know this, but he and Syuusuke-kun used to be best friends and rivals before, and I think until now they still are. If you look at it that way, I guess it becomes obvious that I also know him since I've already told you that Syuusuke-kun's my childhood friend," she shared further.

Atobe looked at her. She had a point, why didn't he think of that before? But then again, it's not as if it was significant.

"Do you want to know a secret?" Meiko sneakily asked him.

Atobe creased his eyebrows.

Meiko giggled. "Iie, forget it. It's too embarrassing," she said.

Atobe's eyebrows twitched. She really had a knack for suspense. "Don't begin if you're not gonna end it."

Meiko looked at him. "Are you curious?" she teased. "Okay then, I'll tell you. But keep it a secret, alright?"

They stared at each other for some seconds.

"I have a little crush on Kojirou-kun," she confessed, giggling a bit.

Atobe felt his heart sink and he remained speechless. It _was_ significant.

* * *

_**05/27/08, 03:38 AM**_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Thanks for reading and please **submit reviews**!! A big thanks to those who have included me or my story in their favorites or story alerts list!! **Thanks, thanks!!** **GOD BLESS!!** xD

* * *

**kawaii.meiko** would like to thank (and show her love to) the following who gave her reviews for Chapter Nine: (Yes, sponsors! Ahaha…)

**Heart**: Aww… new reader/reviewer!! You make my _heart_ blush!! Ahaha… **'Fuji-Atobe rivalry,' **you say? This one's for you!! I quickly wrote it after I've read your review together with that of **darkxXxflames**—which means that I betrayed my break for some minutes just to spice things up!! Ahaha… And about Atobe's future confession…I already have a nice idea of how that would take place, but I guess I'll just cross the bridge when I get there… Hope you can wait!! Thanks, thanks!! God bless!! Hope you read and review again!! xD

**darkxXxflames**: I'm glad you didn't find that part draggy... Ahaha… Thanks, thanks!! I've already said A LOT in my reply, but I still have other things to say!! First of all, please continue supporting my fic!! God bless!! And yeah, I also did the 'ranting out' thingy in this chapter! My reason this time is that I meant it for a bit of surprise; besides, Meiko would also need to explain it to Atobe. Ahaha… Sorry about that!! xD And the rivalry's also for you since you're the first one who suggested it!! Ahaha… Thanks, thanks!!

**I.Hate.Running**: Wow, you guessed it! You're so sharp!! Thanks for the review!! And I've already said a lot in my reply… Here, I already updated although I'm in a break! Ahaha… God bless!! If you have any suggestions, please tell me right away!! Especially since we just discovered that we kinda think the same!! Ahaha...

**XXSakuranXX**: Oh, another new reader/reviewer!! Thank you! You make me so happy!! Please review again!! If you have suggestions there, don't hesitate to tell me!! I'll consider every single one!! Ahaha… Thanks again!! I'm glad you like my fic!! Thank you!! God bless!! xD

**pizzaslices**: Thanks a lot for that constructive review and I'm super glad that you like my fic!! Thank you and please continue supporting this!! If you have any suggestions, please tell me right away!! God bless!! xD


	11. Chapter 11: When Confusion Arises

* * *

_"__abc" _– sound made by an action (if the whole part is italicized)

**"**_**abc"/abc **_– word/s that a character recalled hearing before, whether from his/her mind or from outside forces; he/she only mentally remembers it/them and doesn't say it/them out loud xD

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**Chapter Eleven: When Confusion Arises  
**

It was the afternoon subsequent to Meiko's confession to the narcissistic Atobe Keigo-sama...about her small crush on Rokkaku Chuu's Saeki Kojirou. Both were doing their expected routines, the only difference was that one heart was mystified while the other was feeling painfully normal.

--

"_**I have a small crush on Kojirou-kun."**_

Atobe could still feel his fury as those words rummaged through his brain. He was annoyed, irate, and enraged as he recalled the raven-haired girl's cheery and bashful face as she confessed. He had never felt such emotions before, neither did he ever thought of experiencing them because of a stupid thing called l—no, he got too carried away. It wasn't like he was _in_ _love_ or something. It wasn't like he was furious because he couldn't seem to attract the only girl who could effortlessly make him happy right after irritating him with her crazy antics. Yes, _crazy_—that was the exact term. It was a crazy thing to think that he—the mighty, the beautiful, the perfect Atobe Keigo-sama—would be overlooked by any girl he _liked_. Wait, he just came back to his _wrong_ standpoint earlier. No, it was impossible; he wasn't making sense anymore! The idea was _ugly_, _lame_, _horrible_, _dreadful_! His eyes ANGRILY wandered around the courts.

"MUKAHI! FIFTY LAPS FOR THAT _UGLY _JUMP!"

"SHISHIDO! SEVENTY LAPS FOR THAT _LAME _DASH!"

"OOTORI! ONE HUNDRED LAPS FOR THAT _HORRIBLE _SERVE!"

"HIYOSHI! TWO HUNDRED LAPS FOR THAT _DREADFUL _STANCE!"

"ALL OF YOU, RUN LAPS! NOW!!" Atobe bellowed, looking angrier than ever as he stood at the middle of the courts. His hands were on his waist and his eyes were raging with fury.

The players around were incredulously shocked. They would have remained motionless and speechless if not only for the frightening look their buchou was so brutally wearing. They nervously started their laps, but hastily accelerated their speed when they noticed Atobe's growing impatience.

"H-How many l-laps should we run?" an innocent non-regular asked his teammate as they ran.

Atobe's eyebrows twitched.

"You! Five hundred laps for talking while running!" he heatedly shouted, mercilessly making the guy look tons paler than a _milk fish_.

--

The impressive Hyoutei Gakuen auditorium was filled with yells and chats as cheer dancers from the top three seeded schools were given a thirty-minute break for self-practice. The spacious audience area was populated by students running hither and thither as they crafted their props, arranged the musical layout, and discussed the preparations. The stage, on the other hand, was occupied by dancers who were busily going over the steps they were having troubles in.

Meiko was wearing a blue shirt and cycling shorts as she persevered to master a routine which she and five other dancers were to perform in the concluding part. She sighed. Acrobatics was really her weakness. She just couldn't seem to master the steps of that one routine no matter how hard she tried.

"Reika, I wanna cry..." she tearfully said as she landed on her back again after trying the routine for the umpteenth time.

"Nothing's new," Reika, who was also to perform in the concluding part, indifferently replied while staring at the sitting girl.

Meiko pouted. True, she always gets laid back when it comes to acrobatics. And to heck with her admission to the national champion Seigaku Cheer Dancing Squad—she likes dancing, not twirling.

She sighed again as she observed the other cheer dancers do their moves. _'They're all very good,'_ she muttered to herself. It was very _ingenious_ of her to choose to practice at the far right corner of the stage; that way, only a few people could see her mistakes. Oh well, better resume practicing if she wanted to master the steps.

--

Two hours had passed since the Hyoutei Gakuen tennis club members started their laps…and about two hundred dehydrated and worn out bodies could be seen lying unconsciously on the ground. Looks like Atobe-buchou didn't bother to save them from destruction. Coach Sakaki was busy facilitating the musical arrangement for the General Assembly to even catch a glimpse of their conditions, not that he would have cared, anyway.

Atobe's mood was so awful that he ordered everyone else—and that included his _noisy _fan girls—to stay two kilometers away from the tennis courts. Only the regulars were able to stay alive within that distance. Mukahi, Shishido, Ohtori, and Hiyoshi, because they were blessed to be given a _specific_ number of laps to run; Kabaji, courtesy of his tough body and notable friendship with Atobe; Jirou, because of his timely sleeping; and Oshitari, because of his ingenuity (and cunning) to stop running at the same time that his doubles' partner reached his fiftieth lap (which was the fewest). Oshitari knew that Atobe would not notice since the latter was so deep in thought. The eight grudgingly resumed their practice, and most of them knew better than to meddle with Atobe's temper—most, I repeat.

"Atobe," Hyoutei's tensai calmly called from behind the contemplating Atobe.

The Hyoutei buchou did nothing to acknowledge Oshitari's presence and stayed fixed on his spot.

The other regulars stealthily looked at the two, trying to listen to their conversation—just in case there would be one, that is.

Oshitari adjusted his glasses and a scheming glint (which was very familiar to Gakuto) was on his eyes.

"I suppose you'd be observing the rehearsals at the auditorium later," he said, an unreadable expression flashing from his face.

Atobe's eyebrows creased as he turned to the spectacled guy. He was sure the latter was up to something. "What do you mean?"

Oshitari smirked. "You know very well what I mean."

Atobe narrowed his eyes; impatience was all over his face. He was absolutely in no mood to play the tensai's games.

The devious Oshitari chuckled inwardly. Their buchou evidently needs a little push sometimes. "You're the student council president, after all," he finished, barely in time to save himself from Atobe's wrath.

Atobe's senses jolted up though he hardly showed it. Oshitari had a point. As the student council president, he had the right—no, it wasn't the correct term—the _responsibility_ to check things out, especially since it was a very big event.

Oshitari smiled at Atobe's profound expression. Bull's eye—Atobe was doing exactly what he expected him to do.

Atobe looked at him. Impatience was still on his face but not as intense anymore. "Thirty laps, now!" he commanded the tensai.

Oshitari momentarily widened his eyes in surprise but immediately recovered.

"Hai," he quietly said as he slowly started his laps, leaving Atobe to ponder by himself.

--

"Land on your right toe; shift your weight quickly," Reika boringly instructed Meiko as the latter tried the routine once more.

"Ouchie!" Meiko weakly exclaimed as she landed once again. She was growing very tired already and her back was almost breaking from constant impacts with the stage mat.

Reika heaved out a sigh. "You're really hopeless when it comes to that area," she remarked.

"Can you imagine that I barely slept last night just to practice this?" Meiko said as she pulled out the ribbon from her hair and fixed it in a less messy ponytail.

"Again, nothing's new," Reika nonchalantly answered.

They stared at each other for a while.

"Your turn," Meiko said, smiling as she reached out her hand to her friend.

"Good, 'coz I wouldn't want to face the fury of our appointed coach," Reika answered as she helped her friend stand up.

Meiko giggled. "I guess these are the times when we need each other the most."

Reika gave her a smile. "You bet."

Meiko took a deep breath. "Okay, we've got fifteen minutes to go," she said, glancing at the wall clock in the auditorium. The two of them had always been like that ever since they joined the Seishun Gakuen Cheer Dancing Squad. Meiko was weak in acrobatics, Reika in hip hop; so they make it a point to help each other out during free time. "First, bend your arms like this, then..."

--

"Dismissed!" Takahashi-sensei announced AT LAST.

"Exhausting!" Meiko exclaimed as she and Reika walked out of the changing room after the other cheer dancers had left. There was no way they'd squeeze in with such a rushing crowd. They walked towards the exit door of the auditorium carrying their bags and wearing their school uniforms.

Reika glanced at her. "Keep your poise," she quietly reminded as she opened the door and stepped out of the auditorium.

Meiko stopped yawning midway. She giggled as she also stepped out. "Sorry about that," she apologized, noticing that her arms were outstretched and her mouth was half-open. Suddenly, a familiar face caught her eye. She narrowed her eyes, and Reika followed her gaze.

"Someone you know?" Reika asked, her eyes darting to a spot near the wall where three girls were laughing mockingly as they picked on another female Hyoutei Gakuen student.

Before Meiko could answer, the girl in the middle also noticed her and carefully stared at her, verifying if she was really the girl she thought her to be. When she had made sure, she smiled derisively and walked towards them. Her two companions trailed behind her, appearing to have recognized Meiko as well.

"So, you really came back here," the girl sharply said, her tone making it sound like she just threw an insult to the raven-haired girl.

Meiko smiled sarcastically. "I keep my promises. Sorry if I made you wait long," she replied, eyeing the girl with equal derision.

The girl moved a step closer to Meiko so that they were almost face to face. She placed her arms over her chest.

"As I said, no one needs you here in Hyoutei. I would really love it if I am never to see your ugly face again," the girl said while wearing a sly expression. "But since you're already here, I guess I have to take this chance to show you how _lowly_ you are compared to everyone else in our school."

Meiko tilted her head. "Really? Then why don't you start right now?" she challenged.

Reika boringly stared at the two. She knew better than to interject when Meiko was releasing her stress.

The girl who walked up to Meiko smirked. "Harada, get over here," she ordered, her eyes not leaving Meiko's face.

"E-Eh?" the girl who they were bullying earlier weakly replied, looking scared.

Meiko's eyebrows creased. She was pissed off at the rude girl for bullying others, but she was also annoyed with the bullied girl for being so fragile. She believed in 'girl power,' 'women empowerment,' or whatever it should be called.

The leader of the trio annoyingly gave Harada a sideways glance, and it was up to her two subordinates to do the job. They walked back to the girl.

"Didn't you hear Hinamoto-sama? She just ordered you to go over there!" one of the girls said commandingly.

The girl Harada was too nervous to react and stayed rooted in her place.

"Hey, don't just stand there! Move!" the other girl squealed as she pushed Harada towards Hinamoto's direction.

Meiko patted her ears as the high-pitched voices penetrated it. Reika rolled her eyes.

"This isn't fun. If you don't have anything more to say, my friend and I might as well take our leave now," Meiko said, suddenly feeling too tired to argue with such shallow people.

Hinamoto tilted her head. "Why? Are you afraid that such _a good-for-nothing_ girl like her is way better than you?" she asked her sardonically.

Meiko raised an eyebrow. Reika looked alarmed.

"Meiko, maybe we should just—," Reika started.

"Good-for-nothing?" Meiko repeated sharply, ignoring Reika's call. "Take that back," she demanded in a piercing manner; her eyes showing how angry it had made her.

Hinamoto was surprised with Meiko's abrupt audacity, but she quickly regained her composure. She smirked in the most derisive and insulting fashion anyone could make.

"No use denying it. You know very well that you're such a good-for-nothing, a ne'er-do-well, a—"

--

"You guys didn't have to come," Atobe edgily told the other regulars as he led the way through the corridor perpendicular to that of the auditorium. He glanced at his watch; it was already six-twenty. The tensai was to blame for reminding him late. (Yeah right, as if Oshitari had an earlier chance to talk to him while running his laps.)

"It would be a waste if we don't," Oshitari replied with a meaningful spark on his face. He was on the right-hand side of Atobe, walking a step behind him.

Atobe quickly glanced at him through the corner of his eyes. "What does that mean?"

The blue-haired guy smirked. Through their years together as teammates, Atobe should have already understood that nothing gets past a tensai like Oshitari—even the slightest hints would give him the deadliest answers. But then again, why would Atobe expect him to know about _it_ when the king himself was in denial, eh?

"Of course, pretty girls in cheer dancing outfits are always pleasant to the eyes, ne?" the tensai answered instead.

Atobe took no notice of his response. He wasn't going there to look at other girls. He returned his gaze forward as they turned the corner where the door of the auditorium would be greeting them in all due ardor, or perhaps, in all due shock?

"_Slap."_

The regulars' eyes widened as they saw a girl slap another.

There was a long drawn silence. Loathing could be seen in the "attacker's" eyes as she stared at the "victim's" face, and tension was apparent in the atmosphere bounding them. However, what appalled them was not the anger on the attacker's eyes but the intimidating pleasure on the victim's expression.

"Meiko…" The previously-bored-to-even-care-to-watch Reika was obviously anxious as she uttered the name, finally breaking the tensed silence surrounding the area.

Meiko appeared not to have heard her friend and did not allow her eyes to leave the other girl. She smirked derisively as her hand touched her turning-scarlet cheek. "Happy?" she asked in a quiet but offensive voice. No one knew whether she didn't notice the presence of the newcomers or she simply didn't care; all they knew was that she was eyeing the girl as if only the two of them existed in the world and that only _one_ could continue doing so.

The girl did not respond; her body was trembling in rage.

Meiko's smirk widened.

"You must be very glad," she spoke again, her voice low and malicious. "You don't even have the right to talk to me, yet you even got the privilege to touch my face. Tell me, does it feel…_ fulfilling_?"

The other girl was on the verge of screaming at her. She was angry, fuming, insulted; yet she couldn't find the strength—the vigor—to speak or move any further.

"Meiko, stop it. Let's—," Reika tried to salvage the situation a third time, only to be stopped by another horrifying action.

_"Slap."_

"Meiko!" "Hinamoto-sama!" were the voices that were heard after a brief pause of surprise.

Meiko just made revenge to the girl who slapped her earlier.

This surprised the Hyoutei regulars more, particularly Atobe—although, being himself, he managed to keep a straight face. He narrowed his eyes. There were still many things that he didn't know about her, that was for sure.

"How dare you?!" Hinamoto snapped as she felt the force of Meiko's right hand on her cheek. The impact awakened her and brought her back to reality.

Meiko was also affected by the impact. She was staring at her shaky hand; it was trembling because of shock and incredulity. She couldn't believe that those words came out of her mouth; that her palm just hit the face of that girl. Her lips quivered. She was at fault. But she didn't mean to, if only the girl hadn't—

Next thing Meiko knew, her face was slapped a second time. She felt pain from her head as two hands aggressively pulled her hair that was on the brink of breaking away from her scalp. She couldn't find the strength to defend herself. She heard Reika shout at the girl, maybe asking her to stop as she tried to help Meiko break free from those claws. She also heard two high-pitched voices screaming some name that didn't get the chance to register in her mind. Her brain was in a mess, it wouldn't function properly anymore. She found it hard to breathe, she felt the world spinning fast under her feet, and she wanted the ground to just open and eat her away.

"Stop that!" a reserved but authoritative voice commanded as its owner pulled Meiko away from those brutal claws.

Oshitari held Hinamoto's upper arms from behind and hindered her from hurting Meiko further. The other regulars also walked closer to the two, as if preparing to obstruct if ever a continuation of their fight took place.

"You two," Oshitari turned to Hinamoto's companions. "Take her away for now," he said.

The two girls nodded. Hinamoto shot one last glare at Meiko before allowing her friends to escort her towards the opposite direction. The three of them knew better than to disobey the tensai when he was looking that serious.

Meiko's back was leaning against Atobe's chest and his hands were clutching her shoulders. She massaged her head that was throbbing furiously. She looked up and saw a familiar face. She would have gotten herself comfortable, felt safe, but a voice entered her mind.

**_"Slob."_**

Her eyes shot up. She pulled herself away from the person and glared at him with contempt as she faced him.

Atobe was taken aback. It was the first time a look from someone's face affected him so.

"Don't you dare touch me," she said in the most scornful and _painful_ way anyone had ever spoken to Atobe.

Whatever thoughts he had in his mind, he only showed by creasing his eyebrows. The sudden aching in his chest was not a simple twinge. He stared at her, as if awaiting her next words.

Meiko looked away and decided not to speak anymore; she was afraid that whatever words her filthy mouth would say next might be worse. She walked a few steps past him, avoiding his eyes.

Atobe held her upper arm, yet he maintained his stare straight ahead.

Meiko was against what she was doing, but her emotions were so overwhelming she couldn't take the feeling anymore. All she wanted was to get out of that school fast. Was that too hard to understand? She glanced down at his hand and back to his face.

"Didn't you hear me? Let go," she sternly said.

Atobe did not heed. For some reason, he just wouldn't.

Meiko glared at him for some seconds, waiting for him to release her. He didn't.

She derisively raised an eyebrow. "You know what? Your kind _disgusts_ me the most."

Atobe's eyes momentarily narrowed. He loosened his grip.

Meiko snatched her arm back. Guilt surmounted her. "Reika, let's go," she said as she walked away.

Reika was reluctant. She knew it wasn't her friend's intention to hurt him; Meiko was just flustered and needed a little time for herself.

"My friend didn't mean it," she quietly said as she followed Meiko who was already ahead by several feet. It was the only thing she could say; it may not help, but it was worth trying...

* * *

_**06/07/08, 01:49 AM (not the time in my country, just in my Yahoo! mail)  
**_

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**Author's Notes:** Sorry if there's no Fuji in this chap. Don't worry, you'll see him soon!

**Please review!** Thanks!! **GOD BLESS!!** xD

* * *

Yehey!! _**Michelle, Twi-chi, Psychotic Tensai, Apple Shortcake**_—I have new readers/reviewers!! I'm sooo happy!! Ahaha... A big 'thank you' also to _**GwangFei, XXSakuranXX, darkxXxflames, hai-chan13, angelazabini, Heart, I.Hate.Running, **_and_** Airashii Mochidzuki **_who also gave reviews for Chapter Ten!! **THANKS A LOT AND GOD BLESS!! xD**


	12. Chapter 12: A Rivalry in Bloom

**Chapter Twelve: A Rivalry in Bloom**

A purple-gray-haired guy was one of the occupants of an air-conditioned, brightly lit room with the characters 3-1 displayed in an automated screen perpendicular to the upper part of the front door. He was sitting three rows away from a standing bespectacled man who was citing some passages that, for once in his life, didn't seem to appeal to his interest. His arms were folded across his chest and, being Atobe, his face kept a straight look—a look that showed none of the confused emotions in his heart, and a look that was easily betrayed by the dismal dark blue mirrors of his soul.

He shifted his gaze from his teacher towards the glass window two seats away from him. Tiny drops of rain were slowly descending from the shady sky; the wind was blowing softly as several wilted leaves joined its dance. Atobe's eyes fell on a sturdy branch of the big cherry tree standing twelve meters from the building. He watched it struggle to keep one of its leaves from partaking in that dance of demise, but all in vain—a droplet fell from the sky and the leaf finally drifted in the air. Annoyingly, he felt an imprecise resemblance to that branch; only, the leaf wasn't his to begin with.

His eyebrows creased. Thinking of her was erroneous—there was no way he should do such a lowly thing. He is Atobe Keigo, and anyone who defies Atobe Keigo is beyond sympathy. There was absolutely no way he would want to have anything to do with her again.

Atobe returned his eyes towards his teacher. Less than three weeks of memories couldn't possibly haunt him for long. He flipped his hair. He was back to the magnificent Atobe he originally was, or so he thought.

"As expected, Atobe-kun. Yes, please, translate this Greek passage into Japanese," his nearly-retiring teacher told him, mistaking his usual gesture of flipping his hair to raising his hand.

For a split second, Atobe was caught in surprise as he realized he forgot that he was sitting in class. He saw at the corner of his eyes a boy in the act of sitting down, most likely after _inadequately_ translating the preceding passage. He stood up, raised his book chest-level, and confidently delivered the lines in profound Japanese. Once he finished, he sat down and noticed that all eyes were staring at him in awe. He smirked to himself. His teacher's and classmates' expressions looked more astounded than he expected them to be—he was definitely back to the true Atobe Keigo everyone admired and revered.

Oshitari Yuushi, who was sitting three columns away from Atobe, was obviously surprised. He looked down at his book as their teacher called him next. He stood up and raised it chest-level just as Atobe did. He adjusted his glasses. It was without doubt that Atobe was not himself—for Atobe Keigo _never_ stands up during recitations.

--

"_No use denying it. You know very well that you're a good-for-nothing, a ne'er-do-well, a—"_

"_Shut it. You don't want me to get seriously angry," Meiko warned as she tried to restrain her temper._

_Hinamoto smirked. There was no way she was gonna stop when the fun was just beginning. _

"_You must be ashamed of yourself…" she continued, taking delight in her opponent's irate expression. "…getting all close to Atobe-sama when you two are as far as the North and South Poles."_

_Meiko raised an eyebrow. "Don't involve him in this."_

"_I won't listen to a commoner like you," Hinamoto hotly replied, appearing as if exchanging haughty words with other people was her lifetime expertise. "I'm only telling the truth. You must realize that Atobe-sama would never _ever_ want to be friends with someone like you. He belongs to our prominent Academy, and you have no place here. Do you know how many girls better than you attempted to be close to him? But all in vain—Atobe-sama wouldn't stoop that low because he knows he deserves someone much better than them, meaning, someone _tons_ better than _you_."_

_Meiko's eyebrows creased as a pretty, teary-eyed face of a girl flashed on her mind as she apologized to a certain guy. Hinamoto may have a point._

"_Since you're obviously dying of jealousy, let me give you an advice. If you want to be close to him, try forgetting your unattainable ambition and maybe you'll get a chance," Meiko sarcastically said. Was it caused by her anger, or did something in her words seem to vaguely affect her?_

_Hinamoto's forehead wrinkled for a second, then, she flashed a very annoying smirk. "Looks like you're finally getting my point. Unattainable ambition, eh? For you, it is; for me, it isn't. My family is wealthy. My father is the owner of the Hinamoto Group of Companies that expands over different continents while my mother is a CEO of another large corporation. Simply speaking, we are well-known—prominent. And you? You're nothing but trash. I won't be surprised if your parents don't even have decent jobs, seeing as how they raised such garbage," she said, eyeing the raven-haired girl disgustedly. "Oh, maybe they are garbage themselves," she added _very_ disdainfully._

_That shattered what was left of Meiko's lenience. How dare that girl insult her parents? They may neither be wealthy nor well-known, but no one has the right to speak like that about them. Damn these rich brats—this was the reason why she never wanted to step foot in that wonderful school of theirs. A part of her was urging to shout at the girl and slap her, but her mind knew better than to stoop down to such level. She glared distastefully at Hinamoto._

"_You have the nerve to tell me that, but I find it weird that someone like you who only hides behind her parents' riches would have such confidence against _me_," she retorted._

_That also hit Hinamoto's vulnerable point._

"_What did you say?" she sharply asked, her voice starting to tremble in fury._

_Meiko smirked. Revenge is truly sweet._

"_Without your parents' wealth, what would be left of you?" Meiko's eyes scrutinized the girl from head to toe and up again with a sickened expression on her face. "Nothing, I say."_

_Hinamoto's eyebrows' were almost meeting and her right fist was shaking in infuriation._

_Meiko sniggered sarcastically. She turned her eyes to the scared-looking girl. "Nanako-chan, ne?" The girl nervously nodded. She looked again at Hinamoto. "Evidently, she's a lot better than you, no wonder you're bullying her." Meiko smirked, shaking her head. "How very lowly—such an _insecure_ gir—"_

"_Slap."_

_Meiko was caught surprised, unaware of what happened. The pain on her left cheek answered her question._

"_Meiko…" she heard Reika worriedly say. She knew her friend wanted her to stop, but no, the strong emotion she was feeling wasn't only anger—it was revulsion, and her audacious self would not let her stop._

"_Happy?" she asked, sneering at the fuming girl._

"Saa… are you still thinking about it?"

Meiko's eyebrows jolted up as the soft voice dissolved the thoughts that had been repeatedly dominating her head since the previous night. She glanced at its owner, remembering that they were treading the length of the far-reaching wall of a huge school. Fuji noticed earlier that she was sulking and offered to accompany her there a second time, even before he got permission from Coach Ryuzaki and Tezuka.

"Don't worry about me. I just need some time to collect myself," she said, forcing a weak smile that wasn't even close to one.

Fuji returned the smile. He was, after all, an expert when it comes to concealing his thoughts behind one.

"Everything turns out fine in the end, so don't think much about it," he said warmly.

Meiko frowned as she looked at him. "I'm feeling too guilty it's almost unbelievable. I said hurtful words without reason..."

"You didn't mean them; it was purely out of anger to someone else that you said those words. I'm sure Atobe would eventually understand," Fuji tried to console her, wearing a reassuring smile.

Meiko smiled genuinely. Fuji's gentle voice and heartfelt words always manage to squeeze a smile from her.

"Of course I didn't mean them, I'm an extremely nice person," she said, making a feeble attempt for a joke. "Don't forget that you're the sadistic one here," she teased while wearing a mischievous look on her face.

Fuji chuckled. "Saa…You don't look too bad."

Meiko giggled.

"How dare you? I never look bad!" she joked again, not caring if it was pathetic. There was only Fuji to hear it, after all.

The corners of Fuji's lips moved a little upwards as he smiled a bit wider. "If you say so," he said, knowing better than to argue with the five-year old her.

"You don't seem convinced," Meiko childishly complained. "If you're gonna act, make sure you look credible. A fake smile won't always save the day, you know?" she teased him again, appearing to be lecturing a seven-year old.

"Saa…is that so? Don't worry, I'll work on it," Fuji said, playing along with her teasing.

Meiko couldn't help giggling as she massaged her forehead and acted to be revealing something serious. "I'm sorry to break this to you but…you make lamer jokes than mine. HOWEVER, come to think of it, that's the best achievement you've attained so far, ne?" she just wouldn't stop teasing the tensai nonsensically.

Fuji patted her head. "Saa… That's better. Laughter is the best medicine," he said, ignoring her remarks.

"Is that why you're always smiling?" she asked humorously.

Fuji still wore his usual smile; however, deep inside, he yearned not to pat her head but to _poke_ it. "We're here. You should go inside now," he replied instead as they reached the gate of the school.

Meiko laughed. "You're one of the cutest persons to tease," she said, sensing that her teasing was quite successful. "It's a surprise you haven't poked my head ever since."

The sadistic Fuji chose to chuckle innocently. If she only knew…

--

"_If you're looking for buchou, he's not here."_

_Meiko moved her eyes towards the source of the voice and curiously looked up—and up again. The guy who spoke was such a tall person, probably a six-footer or something. She stared at his face; trying to determine whether she had seen him before since he was wearing a Hyoutei tennis club jersey. Well, she's not really good in remembering faces so she couldn't know for sure._

"_He's not?"_

"_Eh. Seniors are excused from practice every Wednesday," the silver-haired guy briefly explained before turning away._

Meiko remembered the scene as she walked towards the auditorium after trying her luck on finding Atobe. She sighed, feeling disappointed with the incredibly nice timing.

--

Fuji's hands were in his pockets as he sauntered the same route that he and Meiko paced a few minutes ago. The lengthy wall they were following earlier was still beside him, but this time, it was on his left-hand side. He reached the end of that wall at last; he looked left as he observed the structures lining the area a street across from the side of the school perpendicular to the said wall. There were high-end restaurants, classy clothes' store, and posh salons—as expected from a neighboring area of such a well-known academy.

He decided to stroll along there for a while, amused with the luxurious sceneries his eyes were taking in. The photographer in him preferred nature (particularly his cacti collection) and human beings (especially catching them in _accidental_ bloopers), but looking at such extravagant frontages could also make do. A structure oddly situated there caught his attention. It was a playground; a not-so-new playground that for most must have appeared to be ruining the panorama, but to Fuji was the most interesting and remarkable site in that high up area.

Moreover, he noticed something _familiar_ standing there.

"Atobe," Fuji said as he watched the guy turn his back from the playground he was looking at seconds ago. In a typical sane person's perspective, he would have appeared to just happen to pass by and glance at the playground, but because Fuji was not blessed with normal sanity, he formed in his mind that Atobe seemed to have been expecting someone—but in vain.

Atobe stared at him, surprised at such a coincidence. "Fuji Syuusuke."

The tensai kept his default smile as he walked four steps past the buchou and leaned against a pole of the swing, his right side visible to Atobe.

"Mind sparing a few minutes?" he asked, though he perfectly knew that he wouldn't take a "no" for an answer.

Atobe creased his eyebrows. He understood what was coming. "Ore-sama doesn't have time for stupid explanations."

"Saa…It doesn't really matter, doesn't it? I don't remember owing you an explanation," Fuji coolly replied.

Atobe did not respond. Again, he was in no mood to play a tensai's game.

…

"The sky is so bright, isn't it?" Fuji, smiling as he gazed upwards, remarked—breaking the few minutes of silence that lingered between them. "I wonder… what brings a person like you in a children's playground?" he calmly asked. He was looking straight ahead, yet he made sure to see Atobe at the corner of his eyes; that way, he was sure to see the expression that Atobe would be careful _not_ to show if he was completely aware of the tensai's eyes.

Atobe took a step behind and leaned against the wire fence; facing the opposite direction of Fuji's front. He folded his arms across his chest. "Ore-sama is not compelled to answer that, ahn?"

"Of course not, Atobe." Fuji's smile widened a bit. "But if I remember correctly, this playground is not an ordinary one, ne?"

"What do you mean?" Atobe asked him edgily. All tensais are really troublesome.

"Hmmm… Let's see," Fuji began, placing his right forefinger on his lower cheek and appearing to think about something. "For one, a gray and white jersey was once stained with ice cream here."

Atobe's eyebrows creased. What was he to expect, anyway? It was the Seigaku tensai speaking.

"Saa… That seemed to have an effect on you, hasn't it?" Fuji said, finally looking at him interestedly.

Atobe glared at him. "Ore-sama is in no mood to listen to your lame deductions."

"Interesting indeed. I don't remembering deducing anything," Fuji replied, a wry expression almost apparent from his face. He turned his eyes straight ahead once more.

Atobe, obviously annoyed, did not respond anymore.

"I suppose you've discovered already—" Fuji's smile disappeared but his eyes were still closed. "—that Meiko-chan isn't the nicest person you'll see around."

Atobe was surprised. He did not expect such words to come out of the tensai's mouth.

Fuji's smile was back as he took note of Atobe's expression. He glanced at the buchou. "You thought that I'll be defending her, eh?"

Atobe kept his gaze straight ahead. "What did you mean by that?" he asked, seeming to ignore the tensai's last statement.

Fuji was still smiling, but seriousness was evident on his face. "I don't think I should be the one answering that question."

"…"

"Saa… Did I make you speechless?" Fuji asked. His smile was that of a teasing child.

Still, there was no response from Atobe.

The bushes a few meters away from them ruffled—perhaps, as a cat or two moved within them. Its faint and brief noise was the only sound that was heard during another moment of silence.

Fuji opened his eyes briefly; a sharp look, similar to that when he was starting to get serious in a tennis match, was on his face. "Meiko-chan has very pretty fingers. Violence is not their forte."

Atobe's only reaction was the slight creasing of his eyebrows, but he clearly understood what the tensai meant.

Fuji glanced at him. "Saa… It's getting late. Tezuka would surely add some more to my pre-punishment of fifty laps if I don't go ahead now," Fuji, not bothering to look at his watch, said as he detached his back from the pole.

Atobe watched the tensai walk away. He hesitated for a second, and spoke some words that seemed to be more like a question than a statement. "Ore-sama believes that she is feeling fine."

A gust of wind blew weakly between them as it rustled the leaves of the nearby bushes. Fuji stopped on his tracks and fell silent for some seconds.

"I should really get going now, Atobe."

With that, the tensai walked away, and both of them sensed that there was something beyond the actions of the other.

Atobe looked up at the afternoon sky. He knew that Fuji wasn't close to being normal, so, fortunately or unfortunately, the saying "Silence means yes." wouldn't apply.

Fuji's usual smile came back to his lips as he paced the route he was trailing before the encounter. He recalled what he said earlier.

**_"...Meiko-chan isn't the nicest person you'll see around."_**

He smiled inwardly despite the already visible smile he was wearing outwardly.

_'Saa... Doesn't that make her lovelier?'_ he thought to himself as he chuckled.

A gust of wind blew a second time, and the rustling of leaves seemed to be louder than the first.

* * *

_**06/15/08, 03:13 PM**_

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**Author's Notes: **Since Fuji's a sadistic tensai, I decided to give him a dramatic entrance as a rival. (Okay, so what's the connection? xq) I just LOVE the idea of this rivalry! Thanks very much, guys! xD

**P****lease review! Thanks, thanks! GOD BLESS!! xD**

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Thank you to all who submitted reviews for the previous chapter, namely, _**darkxXxflames, GwangFei, hai-chan13, Airashii Mochidzuki, Apple Shortcake, Michelle, I.Hate.Running, The Psychotic Tensai, angelazabini, Heart, NewSlove, Gabby-L, **_and _**SS-lover06. **_A very big thanks! You honestly inspire me.

More Power and **GOD BLESS!!** xD


	13. Chapter 13: A Silent Clash

Sorry for the slow update! I actually wrote this chapter last week but, because of a simple case of nerves, I postponed uploading it. Ahaha... xq

This is a short chapter, but something tells me it's important for me to write this one. There are faint yet significant hints of 'future events' here. And oh, I explained in my profile page why I won't be able to update frequently. Please review! Thank you and **GOD BLESS**!! xD

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**Chapter Thirteen: A Silent Clash**

The earth was still revolving around the sun and rotating in its axis the way it should according to the principles of science. The sun was still rising in the east and setting in the west as it continually appeared to be. Everything was still in its proper place and functioning as it should, but despite the normality and typicality of all aspects of the universe, destiny most stubbornly refused to let go of its victims.

"Shouldn't you have mastered those steps by now?" Reika asked her friend who fell on her fragile back again after attempting to perform the same routine she had been practicing for three consecutive days already.

Meiko frowned, looking hopeless and disappointed with herself as she acknowledged Reika's point. Typically, she would have mastered all the steps within two days courtesy of all her dedication and laborious "overtime" rehearsals. Was she doing something wrong? She had been sacrificing two hours of her supposed sleeping time just for that, she had been carefully observing every other dancer who happened to perform that routine, and she had been constantly asking Reika for tips and advices, but why couldn't she master that one routine? It was just one meager routine. It's as if she couldn't get herself to be enthusiastic, and it made her feel empty.

"I'm just not in the mood…" she honestly answered.

Reika observed her expression. It was rare for Meiko to be in no mood for dancing despite literal pains. After all, dancing was the only thing she could do well—but, then again, Meiko was a girl who cared for her friends so much.

"Let's stop this then. If you're not keen to do this, you're just wasting our time."

Having said those words, Reika walked away—leaving Meiko feeling depressed as she rested her chin on her knee and stared at her blistered feet.

--

"Dismissed!" Takahashi-sensei announced.

It was already thirty minutes past six and all people inside the auditorium were drained of energy. Many rushed towards the thirty-cubicle changing room backstage; as usual, Meiko and Reika chose to sit at the front most row of the VIP section of the audience area while waiting for the crowd to disperse.

"Tsukushi," a firm voice articulated as the two sat in silence.

Meiko raised her head…and dreaded what she saw.

"T-Takahashi-sensei…can I help you?" she nervously asked.

"Be sure to master that routine before Saturday," the Hyoutei Gakuen coach told her straightforwardly.

"I will—I promise, sensei," Meiko replied, bowing as the female coach went away.

She glanced at Reika. "It's so hard. I envy you, having mastered the hip hop part already."

Reika looked at her impatiently. "Let's go," she invited as she stood up.

Meiko snatched her eyes away from the crowd and looked up at her friend curiously. "Where are we going?"

Reika rolled her eyes. "To the changing room—we might still make it."

Meiko gave her a quizzical look, but Reika refused to respond as she strode towards the crowd.

--

"I knew we'd make it," Reika said as the two of them arrived near a locker room where nine guys in school uniform were exiting from. The two of them stood by the corner of the building away from the main gate, and so, the backs of those guys were turned against them.

Meiko looked tensed. "Reika…I don't think I could do it. I'm so nervous…" she said as she gulped.

Reika stole a glance at her, understanding her sentiments. It would certainly be hard for a girl to apologize to a boy amidst eight other guys. "It's okay. I won't be forcing you," she said as she turned around.

Meiko bit her lip.

"Wait," she said though quite hesitantly.

Reika stopped and turned to her again.

"There are still other chances," she said.

Meiko shook her head. "It was my fault, after all."

Reika stared at her for a moment.

"I'll wait for you here," she replied after seeing her friend's 'forced' determined face.

--

"Let's go, Kabaji," Atobe said as he started walking towards the front of the building where his limousine was so extravagantly waiting for him.

The other regulars already rested, showered, and rested again, but their breathing was still heavy—showing that they were yet to get over from the hundreds of laps and arduous training that their buchou so generously made them put up with.

Oshitari, who was trailing behind his teammates as he gazed at the bluish-purple sky, thought he heard some faint footsteps from behind. The sound stopped almost as quickly as it came. He looked behind, and his eyes momentarily widened in surprise.

"Atobe," he quietly called to his teammate who was a few feet ahead of him.

All of his teammates turned their heads in curiosity, and then saw the reason for his sudden call. Only Atobe and Kabaji didn't look at him, but stopped nevertheless, as if waiting for him to continue. Atobe didn't expect the next sound he was bound to hear.

"Senpai…" an unconfident voice called him.

Atobe felt his heart contract. He didn't turn around. Was he afraid that he might do something his pride forbade him to do?

He continued walking—ignoring the voice that had confused him a lot of times.

He heard some footsteps, and a hand clutched his right arm.

"I'm sorry…" the same frail voice said, enough to make him doubt his earlier resolve to have nothing to do with its owner ever again. Yet, he didn't budge.

"I'm sorry," Meiko repeated with a bit more determination. Her eyes traveled around, looking for words that her brain couldn't seem to find. "It was entirely my fault, and I understand if you won't be able to forgive this stupid girl anymore but—"

Atobe forced a smirk. "Shall Ore-sama return your words to you, ahn?" he asked her coldly, his back still turned against her.

Meiko regretfully looked down at her feet.

"_**Don't you dare touch me."**_

She bitterly remembered her stupid statement. Her grip on his arm weakened as she felt the gravity of his words and the guilt that surmounted her.

"Kabaji," Atobe said as he started walking again towards his limousine. Meiko's left hand fell on her side. An empty feeling surged her as she stared at the ground.

Another set of footsteps was heard, but it came from the opposite direction—somewhere near Atobe.

"Meiko-chan," a soft but reserved voice suddenly spoke, instantly catching the attention of everyone.

Meiko looked up at the source of the familiar voice and saw an equally familiar face smiling towards her.

Atobe halted. He and Fuji were two steps away from each other. If both of them would take a step each, they would be shoulder to shoulder.

Neither of them looked at the other.

"Syuusuke-kun," Meiko said faintly, breaking the silent tension unknown to her.

If Inui was present, he would have noticed (but wouldn't dare say aloud) that Fuji's _odd_ smile narrowed by a millimeter.

"Saa…Are you surprised? I decided to fetch you since it is dark already," he answered Meiko's mental question.

"I see," Meiko replied. Sadness was apparent on her eyes, and she didn't bother asking how Fuji knew that she was still there.

Fuji gave a (further) smile of acknowledgment to Atobe as he walked forward; tension hit them like lightning the second they were alongside each other.

"Let's go," Fuji said. His voice was gentle but slightly authoritative—it was not a mere invite.

Meiko glanced at Atobe who started walking again. She looked at Fuji and nodded.

"Reika," she said as she gave her friend a questioning look.

Reika looked away for a second. "I'm okay, go ahead," she answered.

No one noticed that she had walked near them when Fuji appeared.

Meiko nodded feebly and followed Fuji who took her bag.

Oshitari adjusted his glasses when the three were out of sight.

"It would be interesting…" he said.

Reika shot him an annoyed look.

The tensai gave a smirk as he stared again at the vast indigo sky.

The moon was shining brightly above them, the stars were twinkling vibrantly…

* * *

**06/27/08**

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**Author's Notes**: Thank you to everyone who has been continuously showing signs of interest in my fic! Thank you very, very much!! **GOD BLESS!!**

Thank you very much to those who gave me reviews for Chapter Eleven, namely, _**Airashii Mochidzuki, angelazabini, Apple Shortcake, I.Hate.Running, darkxXxflames, Gabby-L, Joyce, Saraeh, sorceressmei, Heart, The Psychotic Tensai, and KL.**_

* * *

I don't know why I keep on apologizing but I want to apologize to _**darkxXxflames**_ because I wasn't able to allot more time for this chapter although I told her that I'd really try to. xD All I know is that I'm REALLY weird these days... (tinotopak kumbaga) lol. xq And thanks for the long review! I loved it!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: Destiny's Plan…**

"You're late," remarked a girl as the door behind her opened, her right eyebrow curved into an arch and her arms folded across her chest. The light radiating from the sun was illuminating the ponytailed strands of hair cascading down her waist.

The newly-arrived guy tossed his hair as his lips formed a haughty smirk.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't need more than ten minutes," he replied confidently as the 'clink' of a closing door was heard.

--

Students merrily chatted and bid sweet goodbyes to each other as some set off to their respective clubrooms while others entered their private services. It was a usual routine for them; the straight road linking the building entrance to the main gate serving as their 'farewell site.' A girl with dark brown eyes was walking among them. She was distinctive, yes, for she was clad in a blue and green uniform dissimilar to that of the gray and white of the students around her.

Several strands of raven-colored hair obstructed her vision as the wind breathed in tranquility. She lifted her right hand to keep them back, at the same time to shield her eyes from the golden orb of heaven shimmering vibrantly above her. Her gaze moved up to the huge cherry blossom trees arraying the path she was traversing. She would have loved staring at them and feeling their presence amidst the soft wind and despite the striking sun, yet, she let out a sigh. There were so many things preoccupying her mind no space was left for appreciating nature. She blew her bangs lightly as she took out her phone from her bag to check the time.

"I'm late!" she alarmingly exclaimed, turning a heel towards the main door of the building and _almost _running.

"_BOMP."_

"Ouch!" she cried out as her left foot took an involuntary backward step for balance.

She impatiently glared at the guy who blocked her way. He was wearing a bandanna on his head with matching sun glasses covering his eyes. He looked liked a weird thing-y from some thug movie amidst a glamorous academy. He had a companion on his right; a guy with long spiky hair that reminded her of Momo, only, his hair was like orange-brown or whatever that color was. Neither of them was looking at her, but she did not have the time to care even when the other guy said, "Watch where you're going." It wasn't him who she bumped into, for goodness' sake. She was already late and—

"My phone!" she cried out even louder, spotting the sky blue gadget on the ground.

She quickly bent down to pick it up. It had been with her ever since she entered junior high, serving as her alarm clock, watch, camera, notepad, and everything else it could possibly provide her. Good thing it didn't look too damaged and—

"_Whack."_

Her body trembled in fury as she saw a foot crush her phone.

She could swear it _wasn't_ accidental.

"Oi," she shakily said as she straightened up and faced the guy with long spiky hair.

"Care to look at your foot?" she darkly asked the _criminal_; a shadow looming over her eyes. If 'looks' could literally kill, the guy would have been dead in an instant—even though he couldn't see her eyes in the first place.

She disbelievingly watched as the two guys looked at each other, gave her an out-of-timing sneer, and darted to where they came from.

"OI!" she shouted after them but to no avail. They had already gone in a flash.

"What the—?!" was the only thing she could mumble as she lifted up her newly-murdered phone—the case was broken and the screen was cracked.

She angrily stared at the direction where the two guys vanished into thin air. There were bushes and trees in that area. Could they have hidden there or something? Like hell, yeah, those things only happen in _manga_. Either way, rehearsals were more important so, although feeling heavy, she continued walking, or rather, started stomping towards the building.

--

"Reika! You're late! I can't believe I came earlier than you," Meiko greeted as she ran to her friend who had just entered the auditorium.

"There's always a first," Reika replied nonchalantly. "It's very hot outside," she explained, seeing Meiko's curious expression about the sweat trickling down her neck.

Meiko nodded in realization. "Very true," she said as they walked backstage. The RikkaiDai cheer dancers were having their dry run onstage so the two of them couldn't rehearse at their usual 'corner.' "You know what," and Meiko irritably started her narration about the "phone-crushing" incident.

Reika raised an eyebrow; then, she let out a breath. "Well, there's nothing more we could do about it. Try saving your ice cream budget and I'm sure you'd be able to buy another within two months."

Meiko resignedly glanced at her. "You're overestimating my monthly income. Saving my whole allowance for the next three months wouldn't still be enough, and I've been through a lot with that phone..." she said with a pout.

Reika tilted her head. "All the more reason you should buy a new one."

Meiko shrugged. "Whatever. Let's carry on, tomorrow's the day."

--

"H-Have you heard of the g-ghost stories spreading about our school a-auditorium? They say p-poltergeists haunt that area every n-night," a non-regular awkwardly shared to his teammates as they changed into their jerseys inside the locker room. Atobe came in almost at the exact time that he spoke, and the diva's ears immediately twitched. Shishido and Hiyoshi arrived a second later, and the sight of the other club members preparing for tennis practice was what greeted them.

Oshitari looked at the speaker as if there was something wrong in what he said.

The non-regular gulped and gave a nervous, apologetic smile.

"It's not really about ghosts. Many things could happen when it's dark," the tensai, who was leaning against the door of a locker with his racquet tucked under his arm and his hands inside his pockets, said before turning away.

Taki sat on one of the benches and took out his racquet from his tennis bag. He glanced upwards before speaking. "That's right. If security's scarce, I mean, inadequate, outsiders might get past it and—what's the word? Assault, yeah, that's it—anyone they see. It's likely to happen since most students here are rich." His left hand was gripping the handle of his racquet while the other was fixing its strings.

"Ah, whatever," Shishido boringly said, throwing a ball of cloth inside his school bag before taking out a jersey from one of the lockers.

Hiyoshi mentally rolled his eyes while smoothing out his hair as he unenthusiastically listened to his teammates.

"There was this incident two years ago." Jirou, who just 'got up from bed,' yawned as he stretched his arms and then patted his mouth. "They said an outsider was able to sneak inside our campus and attack a girl who was left alone in—"

"Everyone shut up!" Atobe yelled at them. Where the heck did that stupid topic come from? He glanced impatiently at the non-regular.

"One hundred laps!" he ordered.

The non-regular could by no means hide his fright.

"—the auditorium," Jirou insisted on finishing, to which he received a most threatening glare.

"Same punishment." The voice was stern.

Jirou's face was simply plastered with his usual easy-going, childlike smile.

Atobe-buchou walked towards the door with Kabaji following behind him.

"B-Buchou, we didn't notice you come inside," Ootori innocently commented, appearing surprised.

Atobe ignored him as he turned the knob and strode out.

Jirou's yawn was the only sound heard as the rest of the players exchanged looks, and the poor non-regular's face was 'unpaintable' and helpless indeed.

--

After tennis practice, a certain doubles pair headed to the school theater—or auditorium, as some preferred to call it. They didn't find it hard to spot their targets despite the sixty or so girls present and went directly to them after merely escaping the attacks of their fan girls. Good thing Takahashi-sensei's voice was enough to make those girls stop; otherwise, disaster would have taken place.

. . .

Gakuto was torn between becoming surprised and laughing. The cheer dancer they were watching was wearing contact lenses instead of her usual glasses, and he must admit that she might have looked better if only her hair wasn't in disaster and her breathing wasn't making her exhaustion too obvious. He knew he shouldn't laugh, but he just couldn't restrain his laughter anymore as he witnessed her fall on her back _again_. After all, he was an expert in acrobatics (as he considered himself to be).

Meiko glared at her 'spectators' as the sound of pure laughter entered her ears. She would have preferred it if he just laughed mockingly at her—that way she would be able to retort at him. But no, it was pure laughter—which meant that he just _purely_ found the scene funny, and it made her feel foolish and embarrassed.

"If you've got nothing better to do here, could you just leave? You're disrupting our practice!" Meiko hotly snapped at them as she stood up.

"Gakuto, it is not right for you to laugh," Oshitari told the red-head.

The tensai's voice was enough to make Gakuto exert his best effort in stopping his laugh. He was finally able to conceal it with just a few hiccups escaping from time to time.

Meiko was still annoyed, but there was no time to grumble about it.

"Don't disturb us," she warned them. "Reika has something important to do so she could only stay until dismissal, which is two minutes from now, if I must tell you," she said, glancing at her watch whose short hand was a degree away from seven.

The doubles pair looked at each other as if a sudden idea hit them. Oshitari adjusted his glasses. "Actually, we might be doing the _exact_ opposite," he said in a matter-of-fact tone despite the word "might" in his sentence.

Meiko eyed him curiously. "What do you mean by that?"

There was a noticeable gleam on Oshitari's glasses, but he allowed his doubles partner to speak instead.

"This guy right here—" Gakuto pointed his thumb to himself. "—happens to be the _best_ in acrobatics," he proclaimed confidently as he took his phone from his pocket and threw it to a nearby chair by the left side of the aisle.

Meiko was taken aback. She narrowed her eyes at him with a puzzled look on her face.

--

"What the—?! You're making it even harder for me!" Meiko complained as Gakuto showed her the routine once more. It was already a quarter to eight, and only the two of them, together with the tensai, were left inside the auditorium. Oshitari's family was prominent enough to allow them to gain permission from school authorities to stay there 'til late. Precious time would be wasted if they still traveled to another place.

"It's not my fault if you're too slow in picking up, clumsy girl!" Gakuto retorted at her.

"Oi! How dare you call me 'clumsy girl'?! You have no right, whiny brat!" Meiko yelled back at him.

Oshitari adjusted his glasses. 'No right,' eh?

"Gakuto, do it slower. Tsukushi-chan, please try to focus more," the tensai instructed them, earning him the annoyed glares that were supposed to be thrown at each other.

The two childish kids calmed down.

"Fine," they said at the same time.

--

"At last!" Meiko exclaimed in relief after performing the routine flawlessly. "I can't believe I finally learned it."

Gakuto smirked. "It's all thanks to me," he said arrogantly.

Meiko restrained herself from acting as if she was choking. She only had to learn a little more courtesy of Reika's constant help, but she acknowledged that she might not have made it in time if not for him. "Thank you then." There was no way she was going to look at him while saying that.

Gakuto looked slightly surprised at her soft tone. It was the first. He looked away and almost said "It's nothing," but his eyes landed on the tensai...and another idea hit him.

"I didn't do it for nothing, silly," he said. A cunning smirk, almost resembling (but not quite so) Oshitari's infamous one, was visible on his face.

Meiko raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Gakuto's smirk widened slyly; Oshitari's eyebrows creased, but he remained silent nevertheless.

--

"_Thud."_

She lazily opened her eyes, touching her forehead which hit the top of the chair in front of her, but darkness still enveloped her. She adjusted her glasses and sleepily looked around, trying to discern where she was at the moment. She blinked...and slowly realized that she was all by herself—alone in the auditorium!

Her eyes shot up. The realization brought her to active consciousness and a notch higher.

She gulped. She was afraid of the dark...most especially when, NO. The thought was terrifying, but she couldn't erase it from memory—not when she was already feeling scared that a ghost or two might pop out and break her bones just like in the movie "One Missed Call: Final." Or what if, it was the queen of Japanese horror movies, Sadako, herself, who appeared in front of her and stared at her with nearly-popping out eyes?! For goodness' sake, Sadako was a theater actress before! Meiko wanted to close her eyes, but wouldn't it be scarier to do that? Oh gosh, why did those two "gentlemen" leave her all alone when everything possible and impossible could just pop out right at her face? And where was Reika, anyway? Why hadn't she arrived yet?

In her rage, she tried to recall what happened before she fell asleep in one of the aisle chairs inside the auditorium.

_After she showered and changed clothes, Reika called and said that she'd be on her way to fetch her. Meiko was delighted—she wouldn't want to ride in a car owned by people almost unknown to her. She was already feeling drowsy—tired and weary from strenuous practice. It was already what? Nine-thirty in the evening! Oshitari said he still had an exam the following day, but permitted himself to wait for a few more minutes to keep her company. Gakuto also claimed to have an exam the next day, but Meiko believed otherwise. They waited in silence, leaning against some chairs. Her two companions walked towards the elevated room at the back and did whatever procedure to turn off the air conditioners. 'Good,' she thought. It was still cold even without the air conditioning, but at least she wasn't feeling anymore the sufferings of a frozen meat. _

_The two walked back on the aisle, still looking as magnificent as Hyoutei Gakuen students could ever be—with the exception of one, Meiko reminded herself, and she couldn't help but frown. She sat on the chair by the right of the aisle, at the row opposite where the doubles partners just sat. She had already washed her hands and didn't touch anything else, so she took out her contact lenses and wore her eyeglasses instead. _

_Ten minutes passed still with no sign of the auburn-haired girl._

_Meiko's head was swaying forward and backward as sleep visited her from time to time. Was that the Hyoutei tensai's voice asking her to sleep while they wait for her friend? And was the other voice joking that they'd leave her at exactly ten o'clock whether or not her friend arrived coming from the red-head acrobat? Drowsiness didn't allow their voices to sink in. Looks like the coffee they drank a while ago had no effect on her whatsoever._

_Her head swung again. For some reason that was yet to register in her mind, she stroke her chin and rubbed it gently. She woke up in vague awareness._

"…_so you're almost here now?" She heard a voice with an irritating accent speak some words. "…good. Gakuto and I are in a hurry so we'll be leaving now…" _

_Even a weak sound of folding the phone could be heard in the vastly silent night._

Meiko's eyebrows creased as she remembered the scene. How dare they—abandoning her like that? Should she walk towards the door and leave the premises? But it was too frightening. Not only ghosts but also animate beings were scaring the hell out of her. What if she suddenly got attacked by some kind of species? She shook her head. It wasn't the proper time to scare herself—not that she intended to in the first place.

A light bulb popped out of her head. Of course! What else to do but communicate outside? Her hand rummaged through her bag as she tried to feel her phone...but it wasn't what welcomed her fingers. No, actually, it _was_ her phone—crushed into pieces! Oh, misfortunes of all misfortunes! What else could she do now? All she knew was that those two guys who destroyed her phone better not show their faces again, or else they would suffer a bloody death.

_(Tune suddenly playing...)_

Goosebumps emerged from the whole of Meiko's skin and electrifying shivers went down her spine as a ringing tone—she would recognize that tone from anywhere—crept on her senses. She unwillingly remembered how the "intended future victims" of the haunting ghost in the movie "One Missed Call" each received a message or call that turned out to be their voices or a video of them...screaming before—ahhh! She was a centimeter away from snapping. Why on earth did she watch the last installment of that movie series with Syuusuke-kun the Friday before? Her thoughts prevented her from seeing the light coming from her left, when she did, her eyes widened—from fear or from relief she didn't know.

It was not her mannerism to bite her thumb, but if it was to lessen her fear by a micrometer, or even by just a nanometer, her body would involuntarily do it.

She peeked at the source of the light from the corner of her eyes as she subconsciously bit her thumb. She was too scared to look at it directly, afraid that a tiny movement might make the worst of her nightmares notice her. She took a deep breath. She inched her head a bit on the side for a better view.

And there it was...crawling its way to her...a sound of rupturing bones, a woman stained with blood, long hair covering most of the face, and the eyes...the eyes...THE EY—no, no, no, it was only her imagination of course. She let out a long, relieved breath and her chest's pounding decelerated. She took another peek. The source was vibrating—no doubt, it was a phone. Goodness, should she pick it up? She wanted to kill the red-head (she knew it was his, for it was exactly at that area where he so arrogantly threw his phone) for having his ringing tone very similar to that of the movie "One Missed Call." Yet, she should also be thankful that he forgot his phone somehow. She took another breath. There was no other way. She gulped and tremblingly walked towards it, her body almost resembling a skeleton moving in all stiffness.

She finally reached the phone just as it stopped ringing, picked it up, swallowed hard, and scurried towards her original place. She sat down again. Now, what should she do? She tried opening the phone to insert her SIM card, but it wouldn't budge. It was too high-tech for her brain. She scanned her memory for the phone numbers stuck inside it. She looked at the time, it was thirty-seven minutes past ten—her parents were both assigned with night shifts and she couldn't just disturb them. Syuusuke-kun just recently changed his phone number because of his fan girls and _her_ fan girl, so she still hadn't memorized his number. Reika was so rich she was used to changing phones. She glanced at the screen, the light it emitted was creeping her out even more. She noticed the power-indicator—only one bar left—not enough to make several calls. Kojirou-kun, perhaps? Or maybe her brother? No, it would take them the whole night to get there. She heaved out a sigh. What was she to do now?

She bit her lip. The light the phone was emitting had finally gone—she hadn't pressed it since she got hold of it. Now, total darkness was surrounding her. Another light bulb popped out of her head, although it was smaller than the first one. She could actually make use of the numbers in that red-head's phone.

A face instantly appeared on her mind.

"Atobe-senpai..." she murmured weakly.

But he hated her now! Why would he help her? Plus, it would be too embarrassing...but it was also too scary to stay in that place. She thought carefully about her situation. The G.A. was tomorrow, and she couldn't risk a night without sleep right before performing. It probably would not hurt to just ask. It would still be his decision—whether he was going to help her or not. She wouldn't force or plead with him, just ask him plainly. Yes, that's it. She had made up her mind.

She raised the phone chin-level and quickly pressed the "Dial" button before her mind changed. She placed it near her ear and heard the other line ring. She waited as she continuously tapped her foot on the metal floor.

--

Atobe was lying on his majestic bed, wearing his purple sleeping robe and wrapped in sleek comforter. His sleep was not yet deep—it was not yet half an hour since it dropped in. Was that one of his phones ringing? Who dared disturb the royal him at that time of the night? Typically, he would press the "Cancel" button immediately or, if the call interrupted his sleep profusely, he would hurl his hand towards his bedside table and allow the source of noise to crash on the floor.

But something made him reach out his hand, determine which of his four phones was ringing, and take the call without reading who the caller was.

"What is it?!" he demanded, making the heart of the person at the other end skip a beat.

Meiko gulped, unsure of what to say. She should have made a script.

Atobe was annoyed with the caller's lack of response.

"Ore-sama's time is too precious for prank calls, commoner," he impatiently said as he moved the phone away from his left ear and tried to end the call.

He tried, but the voice he heard stopped him from doing so.

"Senpai!" Meiko impulsively yelled as she sensed that he was about to end the call.

Atobe's half-closed eyes opened and he slowly brought the phone back to his ears. He was quite uncertain on how to respond, so he just prepared to listen to the obviously anxious voice.

Somehow, Meiko felt that he was still there and was willing to listen—it made her a bit more relaxed. She took a deep breath.

"Senpai," she started as her eyes roamed around. "I'm sorry if I'd be pestering you at this time of the day—I mean, of the night—but..." Shame was surging her body. How could she ask him for help after she threw such harsh words to him the other day? Maybe she should have called the blue-haired tensai instead.

Atobe felt her uneasiness.

"Go on," he said monotonously. His pride was nagging him, but he knew there was something important that she wanted to say, and he couldn't just ignore that.

It was what Meiko needed for a little bit more of courage. "Y-You see, I'm stuck here in your school and it-, well, it's pretty scary..."

He quickly sat up. "You're still at school?"

Meiko nodded though he couldn't see her. "Eh," she confirmed.

"_**There was this incident two years ago. They said an outsider was able to sneak inside our campus and attack a girl who was left alone in—"**_

Jirou's voice flooded Atobe's senses.

"Where are you exactly?"

"T-The auditorium..."

His eyes shot up.

"Stay where you are. Ore-sama will go there right away," he said as he changed clothes in a flash. "Don't hang up."

"As much as I want to, the battery would—" Meiko's voice was cut off. The battery had gone dead.

"Oi. Oi?!" Atobe shouted to the phone. No response.

He impatiently opened the door of his room and walked outside, not noticing that the number registered on the phone in his hand belonged to no other than his red-head teammate.

--

Meiko was feeling calmer as she waited for her prince, or rather, for her senpai to arrive. For one, he had spoken decently to her again—and that made her feel happier—but the fright she was feeling won't simply fly away like some satisfied butterflies after strolling around a scenic garden.

"I wish he would come quickly..." she mumbled after seven minutes, disregarding the word "consideration" and welcoming the word "selfishness" for that specific moment in time.

No one can blame her. The auditorium was basically entirely closed, no light from outside was coming in, and she just watched a horror movie less than a week ago—not to mention she had been afraid of ghosts ever since, most especially of Sadako.

She rubbed her arms. The cold air that was probably entering through slits above and beneath the doors which failed to register in her senses a while ago was now penetrating her skin. She looked around, trying to perceive anything from the pitch-black darkness at what probably were empty chairs surrounding her.

Her lower lip quivered. She suddenly remembered a scene wherein Sadako's victim was found sitting on a chair and...NO! Terror was surmounting her again. She slowly looked up at the entrance behind her. It would probably be a better idea to wait there.

She nervously traversed the seemingly elongated aisle, feeling the chairs as she went up the ascending pathway.

She touched the long brass handle of the door. She wanted to know whether it was open or not, but before she could, there was a faint footstep from the other side.

She halted, discerning if it was only her imagination.

_"Step, step, step..."_

Every shade and tint of all colors drained from her body.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!" Meiko screamed at the top of her lungs as she hastily locked the door and pressed her back against it. She covered her face with her hands—dreading that the last that she would see would be Sadako's eyes staring evilly at her.

"Oi! Tsukushi! Open this!" the newcomer apprehensively called as he pounded on the door, his voice breaking through her loud scream that resounded within the hall.

Meiko stopped. She knew that voice. With a gulp, she slowly inched her hands away from her face and stretched them towards the knob behind her. She bit her lip. Her ears couldn't be deceiving her, right?

She took a deep breath and turned around, a hand still clutching the long handle. Nervously, she turned it and made a narrow opening between the edge of the door and its frame. She peeked.

"Atobe-senpai!" Her hand let go of the door.

Atobe pushed it away. And they stood there, face to face.

Meiko looked pitiful as she looked up at him. She was so afraid it was by instinct that she locked the door and screamed despite the knowledge that he was on his way to her. She clutched the side of his jacket near his waist, as if determining whether he was real or not. He was.

She gave out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness you're finally here," she breathed, her hand not yet releasing his jacket.

Atobe continued staring at her as he gripped the flashlight on his right hand. He couldn't remember being more worried all his life.

Meiko looked up at him again. She wanted him to respond but he didn't. Was he still angry at her? Well, it was entirely reasonable and understandable.

She dropped her gaze and detached her hand from his jacket. She resorted to rubbing her arms instead to ease the cold that was further coming in from the opened door.

Atobe noticed her actions. It was very cold indeed. He took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

Meiko looked surprised. "No, I'm okay! You should wear—"

"Let's go," Atobe cut her off as he swiftly turned towards the door.

Perhaps he spun so fast for he saw a tiny reflection of light somewhere at the corner of the room. It probably came from the glass frame of the "fire exit" sign as the beam from his flashlight passed it.

Meiko gazed at him. Apparently, he was still angry at her and, because of that, his 'coming to her rescue' was kind of_. . .sweet . . ._of him.

She just had to poke her head inwardly.

Atobe looked back at her.

"Ah. I'm right behind you," Meiko quickly responded as she also stepped out of the colossal room.

--

"It's colder here than inside the auditorium, don't you think so?" Meiko asked him, breaking the silence that had lingered between them as they walked along the hallway. Dim light was streaming from the grounds, enabling them to see each other's silhouettes.

"Ah," Atobe replied shortly, his back still turned against her.

Meiko frowned. She looked up at the side of his face that she could see. He was walking by her right side, a small child's step ahead of her. Of course, their positions were not accidental. Atobe was nearer to the row of classrooms, Meiko to the line of large glass windows. She simply thought that if ever she stayed at his left and was suddenly grabbed by some entity hiding in one of those creepy, unlit classrooms, it would be more unlikely of him to notice it since she was walking behind him. On the other hand, considering their present positions, she vowed to literally look after him and, if ever the daunting nightmare would really happen, she could quickly come to his aid by, perhaps..._calling for help?_

Very ingenious and selfless indeed.

Meiko's attention was caught by the light coming from the flashlight Atobe's right hand was holding. She switched her gaze to the hand nearer her. Actually, she did not see it, for it was resting inside his pocket. Her eyes slowly moved up to his face. He was looking straight ahead, appearing oblivious to the girl trailing behind him. She felt sad. She remembered how they used to be so close to each other—well, maybe not _that_ close—just close or something, but still! She sincerely missed the budding friendship she had messed up.

"It was awfully scary inside there. I couldn't help remembering some of the horror movies I watched before and—" She poked her head for being so stupid. She may have thought of something to talk about, but she also reminded herself of her fears.

She anxiously glanced around, dreading to see whatever she was or was not looking for. She became uneasy and wrapped the jacket more closely to her.

Atobe, who was constantly glancing at her, observed her movements.

"You're still cold?" he asked, trying not to sound too concerned.

Meiko shook her head. "No, it's just that..."

Her eyes were still traveling around; Atobe raised his eyebrows.

"What is it?"

Meiko glanced up at him. She hesitated. "Ne, senpai..."

Atobe felt a twinge in his chest. It was her frequent out-of-nowhere calls again.

He felt her clutch the back of his shirt.

"I'm kinda afraid of ghosts," she whispered to him as if ensuring that nobody else would hear the embarrassing truth.

Atobe blinked. It was hard not to chuckle inwardly.

Suddenly, a bird flew right outside the window and lavishly flapped its wings.

Meiko's grip on his shirt tightened as she took a side step towards him and slightly hid behind him. She couldn't believe she disregarded a possibility of horror involving the windows.

Atobe glanced at her again. The light was peering more to her face so it was more visible to him than his was to her. But even if it wasn't, he would still have known that she was honestly scared.

"Ore-sama would appreciate it if you wouldn't tug his shirt like that. He isn't a human shield," he told her sternly.

Meiko was hurt and disappointed, but released his shirt nevertheless and took a rightward step to her previous position.

It was very cold, yet Atobe could feel heat from his face.

"Just hold Ore-sama's arm instead."

Meiko instinctively looked at him. Darkness was covering his face, so all she knew was that his gaze was sternly fixed at the corridor straight ahead. She slowly reached out her right hand and clasped her fingers on his left arm. She couldn't help smiling. "Doesn't this make you more of a human shield?" she teased.

Atobe smirked. "No. It just makes Ore-sama more chivalrous than he already is."

Laughter escaped from her lips. "Fine, I'll let you off this time since there's some truth in what you're saying."

A flip of his hair and his lack of words to say was given remedy. Something told him that he missed her cheerfulness, but he did not want to believe it.

Meiko was still smiling. She glanced up at the familiar face. The smile faded, a sad frown replaced it. She looked down at her feet; guilt could ruin even the most pleasing of moments.

"I'm...I'm really sorry about the other day," she began awkwardly, caressing her hair to ease her nervousness. "I was very angry then and...it's really my weakness; you know, restraining my temper when it already exceeded its limit."

She gulped. She was not good at those things.

"Those words...I honestly didn't mean them—I was just vexed and all." She bit her lip. "Besides, I have this, sort of, _insecurity_...ever since."

Her eyes traveled to anywhere but him. Guilt was gradually leaving her body as it transpired into fear—fear of how he would respond.

Atobe remained silent. Then, he took his left hand out of his pocket and did what looked like his famed "Insight" pose.

Meiko lowered her head, her eyes reflecting both sadness and understanding as her hand fell to her side. Apology not accepted, eh?

A hand ruffled her hair.

"Then you must be right—you're a stupid girl."

Meiko tilted her head. She was clueless. She stared at him, trying to decipher his thoughts. His words, in most circumstances, would have meant sarcasm, but something in him—something she couldn't determine what—gave her the impression of warmth and sincerity. "Eh?" she asked in confusion.

He smirked. He dropped his hand to his side. Their fingers were almost touching each other.

"None of it would have happened if only you listened to Ore-sama's gracious advice."

Meiko looked up as she thought hard about it. "When did you—?"

"_**Don't say words you don't really mean—you might end up regretting them."**_

Meiko blinked. Come to think of it...

Atobe looked at her through the corner of his eyes, his smirk still intact. His gaze switched to her hand that was at most a millimeter from his.

He could have taken her hand...but he held her wrist instead.

"Let's hurry up."

"Eh? A-Ah."

If Meiko was an ordinary girl, she would have blushed and either felt awkward or ecstatic, the latter being more probable. However, since childishness was innate in her, she erased any 'strange' ideas and considered that they were friends anyway. She smiled at the thought that they had reconciled at last.

"Yeah, we should. I heard you have an exam tomorrow," she replied as she quickened her steps to catch up with his. She positioned herself still slightly behind him (he _was_ a human shield), their shoulders overlapping but not touching.

Atobe looked at her curiously. "Who told you about it?"

"Oshitari-senpai. He kept me company as Mukahi-senpai taught me the steps of the routine I was having a hard time on. Honestly, I was amazed at how fast your team's acrobat learned the steps. Hmm... It was actually the first time that I was taught by a boy. I realized it has an advantage because he could catch me every time I fall." Meiko gazed upwards, appearing to be thinking about something. "Does my last line belong to the lyrics of a song?" she asked jokingly.

Atobe looked at her dully, but chose to ignore her lame joke. "Mukahi taught you a part of your dance?" he asked disbelievingly.

Meiko nodded. "Eh. It was an acrobatic one, and he was really tough on me. But, anyway, I'm really thankful that I've mastered the steps at last."

She smiled before turning away from him. Her eyes fell on her wrist, or rather, on his hand that was holding her wrist. His touch was warm despite the cold night, and Meiko was really glad that he was with her—all thanks to that devious Gakuto's phone.

"Oh!" she exclaimed through the deafeningly silent night, startling the butterflies in Atobe's stomach.

"What?" he asked irritably. She didn't really have to surprise him every single second.

"I almost forgot—I have Mukahi-senpai's phone with me," she said as she took it out of her pocket. "Ne, senpai...could you hand it back to him for me? I might not get the chance tomorrow. And thank him for me also. Is it okay?"

She displayed her best puppy eyes to get his favor.

The darkness was definitely at Atobe's advantage for it hid the blush that crept on his cheeks. "He left his phone with you?" he managed to ask.

'Phone.' Why did the word seem to evoke something he needed to do?

"Obviously—I used it to call you," Meiko reminded him as she stealthily dropped the phone in his pocket.

Atobe paid no attention to the added weight inside that pocket.

"You called me using his phone?" he asked. He totally overlooked it.

"I don't even have your number in the first place." Meiko giggled. "Were you so worried about me that you _totally overlooked_ it?" she teased, her face showing her amusement with his surprised reaction.

Atobe would have choked if he was eating or drinking something, fortunately, he was doing neither, so he just looked at her with annoyance (tenseness) written on his face.

Meiko couldn't hold back her laughter. "I'm only joking. Why so angry, are you guilty?" she spluttered.

There was a strong urge in Atobe to poke her head to stop her from saying anything else.

"He left it in the auditorium?" he asked instead with creased eyebrows.

Meiko nodded. "Of course—if I stole it from him, I wouldn't dare call you using it."

"Ore-sama wasn't implying that," he inattentively answered. What she said distracted him indistinctly; now, there were two additional things lingering in his mind.

"Ne, senpai..." Meiko stared at him curiously as she observed his shadowed face. "I knew it, you're spacing out as usual," she remarked as they started climbing down the stairs.

Her voice brought him back to reality. "Ore-sama never spaces out."

Meiko pouted. "But you always do. This is like...the third time. The first was at the ice cream parlor and the second was at the playground," she recapped, counting those two instances with her fingers.

'_Playground,'_ Atobe repeated in his mind. The word reminded him of a certain encounter. He looked down at her hand.

"…_**very pretty fingers."**_

His expression turned dull. Although he couldn't see them clearly, he knew her fingers were just average—not too slender, but certainly not plump also. They might meet the criteria of being 'averagely pretty,' 'pretty average,' or whatsoever, but the truth remained that they didn't qualify for the category 'very pretty.'

"What is it? Do you miss the playground?" Meiko asked with a childish smile.

"Why would Ore-sama miss a meager playground?" Atobe asked, looking at her like she just said the most senseless thing on earth—yeah, as if he didn't visit it _by chance_ during their 'fight.'

"Meager?! It is NOT meager! It's where we first met, remember?" she reminded him babyishly.

She didn't mean to make him blush, so it was a wonder why he did.

Meiko giggled at the sight of his ever-so-predictable irritated face. "Ne, senpai..."

For the first time, Atobe felt like responding to that more-than-familiar call.

"What?"

She smiled cutely just as Atobe's foot landed on the next step. "I missed you."

"_THUMP,"_

"_Ick,"_

"Whoa!" were the next sounds that were heard. The first two were simultaneous; the third came a split second later.

Atobe's body froze in unison with the earsplitting throb of his heart, and Meiko almost collided with him if not only for her instinctive grip on his arm using her free hand, thus enabling her to keep her balance.

On the dark and annoying side, they nearly fell and injured themselves the night before her upcoming performance. On the bright side, he literally reached Echizen's goal of becoming a 'pillar of support.' Oh, scratch that, a pillar couldn't grow _hot_ as fast as that.

Atobe's stomach itself became a huge, fluttery butterfly and swiveled around his heart, making it beat rapidly. He did not look at her. Even amidst the darkness, he was positive that she would see his _awesomely_ bright pink face.

Meiko confusedly stared at him. He was probably spacing out so he did not hear her.

"Oi, senpai. Don't stop so abruptly, we almost fell!" she reprimanded him as she glanced down at the stairs. There were five more steps before the floor. Any injury could have happened to both of them.

No reaction.

She slapped his arm in irritation.

"NE, SENPAI! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS SPACE OUT? ARE YOU OKAY?!"

Atobe's heart skipped a beat and his face was glowing pink. How did she expect him to react? What was there to say? He blinked and cleared his throat as he scanned his malfunctioning brain.

He forced a smirk that looked as awkward as it could ever be.

"Of course." He flipped his hair. "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na."

His renowned and habitual line was the only thing left of him.

Meiko involuntarily raised an eyebrow. She blinked. What the heck was with that?

"O-Okay," she uncertainly said, restraining herself from her usual "Fine, whatever" comments.

Atobe flushed out of embarrassment as they descended the remaining steps. His famous line was suitable in almost every situation, but it was the dumbest thing at that moment.

They walked for a few more minutes with Atobe contemplating on what to say to bury that line from memory, but to no avail.

"Oh! We're almost there!" Meiko exclaimed as she saw the ray of light peering from the main door.

She snatched back her hand from his grip and grabbed his arm instead. It was then that he remembered who he was supposed to call.

Unfortunately, the memory came too late.

"C'mon!" she invited cheerfully as she leapt towards the peering light.

They finally neared the half-opened door. Meiko reached out and pulled it, eager to see the 'outside world' again.

She stepped back in impulse.

What greeted them literally took her aback. Outside were black limousines parked right in front of the building, lighting equipment set up and ready to operate once signaled, and hundreds of men and women dressed in black suits and holding flashlights and communication gadgets—all awaiting their exit. She quickly turned to Atobe, surprised and perplexed.

Atobe closed his eyes and could only massage his temples in embarrassment and frustration.

It isn't a sin to play 'total hero' sometimes, right?

.

.

.


	15. Chapter 15

It's been three months. Wow. I'm so sorry for not updating until now. I hope you still remember the previous chapters. There will be references in this chapter on Chapters Twelve to Fourteen. I would indicate those so that you can check them out in case you want to. Thank you.

--

**Chapter Fifteen: …Or a Tensai's Scheme?**

The moon was shining brightly above them; the stars were twinkling vibrantly... (1) and the tensai's spectacles were gleaming _deviously_.

"What do you mean by that?" Reika snapped irritably.

Oshitari looked at her—a look of fake surprise carefully sketched on his expression, and of hidden intent expertly kept from it.

"It would be interesting..." he pushed his eyeglasses upward, the infamous smirk suddenly evident on his face. "...if you'd cooperate with my plan," he finished quietly yet dramatically, a tinge of light swiftly passing through both lens of his spectacles.

Suspicion made Reika stare at his pair of blue orbs before switching her gaze to the rest of the team in attendance, as if doing so would enable her to discern their plans. But no, the tensai's façade was too durable to break, and as for the other members, all she knew (unless those guys were born-actors whose main purpose in life was to deceive her) was that their slightly creased eyebrows and probing stares to the tensai signified a look of both curiosity and confusion, yet no one dared utter a single word.

"I'm assuming they're part of your plan, too," she sounded confident despite her contradictory observation.

"Yes, that's right," the tensai seemed so sure he could be mistaken as stating some widely-known and established scientific fact. "And they know better than to refuse," he added, the glint was now clearly coming not from his eyeglasses but from way within them, inside those blue orbs of deception that they were supposed to be hiding.

Gakuto had now the wakefulness to speak. "What do you mean by that, Yuushi?"

Shishido gave a subsequent question. "Che. What makes you think we'll cooperate with your plan?" he asked as his fingers moved to stroke his hair—a gesture he usually does when he gets a feeling that something he doesn't like will happen...something that will _involve_ him.

The tensai gazed high up to the stream of glittering specks a second time, remembering that day when his formerly inconceivable plan found its way to being envisaged. That day when he was supposed to be simply walking around with his childish, almost cat-like friend upon the streets around their school, and there, his feet brought him to where honesty and certainty were to be revealed...about no other than those two particular persons.

--FLASHBACK--

"Ne, Yuushi, I'm hungry already! Let's stop somewhere and eat!" came the usual, common, and everyday whining that his ears were now accustomed to, though at first it made him wonder whether he had an acrobat or a pet for a doubles partner. But then again, who said it couldn't be both, eh?

He did not mind voicing out his consent anymore. He learned through experience that one only has to agree or disagree when the situation gives him some decent choices like a "yes" or a "no," which, in this case, was clearly out of the question.

His doubles partner went ahead of him, jumping and leaping from one restaurant to the next as he glimpsed at the various food offered in each. The "jumping and leaping" was not meant literally, of course. Bear in mind that they were still wealthy students from a prestigious academy just a long brick wall across, so both of them knew better than to ignore proper behavior. As they were searching for the _one_ restaurant that would satisfy their cravings at that specific point in time, or rather, as the tensai left that job to his doubles partner, he caught sight of something unusually there at that place. It was right there, at the corner of the street they were treading, where he remembered he used to see some not-so-wealthy children play until their clothes were soiled and their bodies were dripping with sweat. But no, it was _not_ the playground that he was referring to. It was that something _inside_ the playground. That something—or rather, that person—whose mentality he knew was somewhat comparable, or maybe even compatible, to his.

"Yuushi! I found it!" he heard his doubles partner yell, and he didn't have to look to know that the red-head was waving at him while at the same time pointing his other hand to that _one_ restaurant, so much for the said "proper behavior" that they were supposed to be displaying.

He walked over to where Gakuto was and placed a hand over the latter's shoulder. "Mukahi," he said quietly, preparing himself for the louder whines and yells that his next words would surely cause. "Forget the food. Come with me first."

"Ehh?! Ahhhh!!"

And the red-head was dragged along, much to the confusion of the people around.

. . . (2) . . .

"Interesting indeed. I don't remembering deducing anything," a soft, seemingly playful, voice came as the pair landed on a part of the ground behind some bushes.

"Yuushi, wha-?" the acrobat's mouth stopped in midair. "Oi, isn't that Seigaku's tensai? And that's… Oi! A—"

Oshitari covered the loud mouth with his hand before it managed to steal the scene. There was a need for him to know the topic or, in the absence of it, the _essence_ of the two's conversation.

"I suppose you've discovered already—," the same voice spoke again, this time with evident seriousness in the tone. "—that Meiko-chan isn't the nicest person you'll see around."

Still no response from the other side. After a few more seconds of silence and tension, the Seigaku tensai was heard again.

"You thought that I'll be defending her, eh?"

'_Hmmm... A one-way conversation, no?'_ the Hyoutei tensai thought.

Atobe was fast to disprove him.

"What did you mean by that?" the buchou spoke with the same demanding and authoritative voice the Hyoutei team knew so well, yet with something more in it. Something like interest...and necessity.

"I don't think I should be the one answering that question," was the cunning reply.

Silence prevailed once more.

"Saa… Did I make you speechless?"

Oshitari noted that it was surely turning into a probing session rather than developing into a friendly conversation. Those two were just _so_ incompatible with each other.

By the time he noticed that his focus on what was supposed to be a "conversation" allowed the red-head to escape from his grip, the latter was already in a position to jump outward and away from him. Fortunately, the tensai was quick to wrestle him back to the ground in the most silent way he could manage.

The bushes where they were hiding behind ruffled as though a cat or two moved within them.

"Meiko-chan has very pretty fingers. Violence is not their forte," the dominant voice spoke with something like dignity in it.

Seems like the two were so deep in conversation that they did not notice the irregular sounds...

"Saa... It's getting late. Tezuka would surely add some more to my pre-punishment of fifty laps if I don't go ahead now," the soft voice spoke as slow footsteps started to be heard.

"Ore-sama believes that she is feeling fine."

Atobe's attempt to sound indifferent and hide his concern was inadequate to fool a tensai.

The sound of footsteps disappeared. And the silence was boring Mukahi to death.

"Oi, Yuu—" the acrobat already lowered his voice, but the tensai just wouldn't allow for any distractions—not when he was taking note of every words, every change in tone, and every hint of emotions from the two. He covered Mukahi's mouth with his hand again.

The leaves rustled a second time despite their controlled movement. Good thing a gust of wind blew to cover them up.

"I should really get going now, Atobe."

The sound of fainting footsteps resumed, until they were lost by the distance.

The sadist had left. The buchou remained motionless. The acrobat whimpered in disgust.

And a tensai had at once conceived a plan.

--End of Flashback--

--

"How do you find the execution of your plan?" Reika asked as they walked the dark corridors of Hyoutei Gakuen towards where their cars were awaiting them. They let several minutes pass after Atobe and Meiko had gone and the grounds were cleared of the _highly unnecessary _black cars and agents before going out of their "hiding place" near the fire exit of the auditorium.

"A success," was the immediate reply. "There were a few digressions but, all in all, it went smoothly."

Reika raised an eyebrow before rolling her eyes. When he said that there were _a few_ digressions, she was sure "a few" should be replaced by "a lot of." And regarding the "smooth" flow of the plan, how can a plan with a lot of digressions be considered to have gone smoothly? But she had to agree with the first part. Somehow, despite the deviations and mistakes, it was still a success. They were able to reach their ultimate goal—to patch things up between Meiko and Atobe.

Who would've thought that the tensai's _ingenious_ plan would be so complicated to execute? It was probably because of the unpredictability of the "victims" as well as of the _"accomplices."_

(3) Reika was the one who taught Gakuto, at the rooftop of Hyoutei's school building, the steps of the routine Meiko was having a hard time on. Good thing she persisted to teach him ahead despite his objections of not needing it anymore, for it took him almost two hours to master it, which was why she was late for official rehearsals.

Shishido and Hiyoshi were assigned to switch Meiko's phone with another similar type that was not working, with Hiyoshi doing all of the talking if called for, since Meiko had already heard Shishido's voice during their first encounter. (They were too cautious not to leave clues that they were the ones under the awful disguises that Jirou and the dirty pair forced and tricked them to wear.) However, because of Meiko's sudden unpredicted movement, Hiyoshi resorted to stepping on and destroying her phone instead, since, after all, their goal was only to _inhibit_ her from using her phone later that evening.

The non-regular who was punished by Atobe with half-a-thousand laps was also asked (more of "threatened") to play a role. He was supposed to start the conversation meant to make Atobe know how dangerous it was at their school, more particularly at the auditorium, during nighttime, for none of the regulars agreed to appear so stupid as to do that. Due to lack of further explanation because of Atobe's earlier-than-usual entrance to the locker room, the non-regular talked about ghosts instead.

Taki and Jirou were assigned to continue what the non-regular was supposed to have started and what Oshitari took lead instead. Taki was _so_ not an actor and it was more than obvious that he just memorized his lines, strictly following the script and not opting for alternative words. Jirou, on the other hand, was so devoted that he insisted on finishing his line despite the punishment of a hundred laps—not that he was to follow, anyway.

Ootori's part was not much significant but was also a big yet unobvious help. His "fake innocence" about not knowing that Atobe had already entered the locker room lessened the chance of Atobe thinking that "something was fishy" with the way his teammates were acting.

Instead of Reika, Gakuto was made to teach Meiko because, just as Meiko had mentioned to Atobe, "he could catch (her) every time (she) fall(s)." It merely means that Gakuto could teach her better than Reika could because he can assist and support her weight.

Oshitari, aside from being the mastermind, also supervised in the execution of the plan. Significantly, he salvaged the situation at the locker room, and instructed Gakuto to leave his phone for Meiko's later use (since he cannot leave his for he has a "date.") He and Reika also kept Meiko secret company at the auditorium from the time she fell asleep due to the "coffee" that they gave her until the time when Atobe arrived to "rescue" her. His only mistake was when he relied too much to the prevailing darkness that he carelessly walked out of their "hiding place" to watch what was happening during Atobe's arrival. The buchou then noticed "a tiny reflection of light somewhere at the corner of the room," which he fortunately dismissed as "probably coming from the glass frame of the 'fire exit' sign as the beam from his flashlight passed it." The truth was that "the glass frame of the 'fire exit sign'" should be replaced by "the tensai's eyeglasses."

Reika let out a small reserved laugh as she remembered the mistakes her co-accomplices committed throughout the plan.

Oshitari glanced at her as they reached the grounds. "What is it?"

"I agree. Your plan was a success. Good thing it's finally over, no?" she replied, sincerely feeling carefree as her valet opened the door of her car to let her in.

The tensai halted from entering his. "Over, eh?" he commented monotonously, surprising Reika and making her stop as well.

"Why, is it not over?" she asked suspiciously, suddenly feeling tensed at his sudden remark.

He pushed his eyeglasses upward. "I guess this plan's really over, but it seems like someone else has a plan of his own..."

"What do you—?"

"Good night, Matsuhiko-kun," he cut her off as she watched him enter his car.

Reika's eyebrows creased. She knew he was wearing that same smirk—that same glint on his eyes—which he wore when he asked her to cooperate with his plan.

The stars were gleaming endlessly on the sky above, and the bright moon was on its fullest dimension.

--

**A/N:** This was NOT the way I wanted to write this chapter, especially the last part. But because of some "length-y" problems, I was left with no choice. T.T

This chapter's purpose was to reveal the secrets that lay behind the events leading to Meiko and Atobe's reconciliation, ayt? I'm really sorry. I was supposed to put some Atobe-Meiko and Fuji-Meiko scenes here, but it just wouldn't suit the title. (Oh, and by the way, the title of the two latest chapters, when merged, is **"Destiny's Plan...Or A Tensai's Scheme?"** which is why I couldn't cut this chapter out.) I'm leaving a bit of fluff to Chapter Sixteen, which, mind you, I'm planning to work on some time today. Since past ideas are kinda lost at the moment, it might take me as long as three hours to finish it and, well, I might not post it immediately. Lol. But if you'd inspire me (ehem ehem), I might upload it later or tomorrow. Thank you!

**GOD BLESS!! **XD

--

**References:**

(1) Reference to Chapter Thirteen. The whole first scene is like a continuation of the end of that chapter.

(2) Reference to Chapter Twelve. It is more or less the same scene, but at a different perspective.

(3) Reference to Chapter Fourteen. That paragraph as well as the succeeding six tells the role of each "accomplice" to our tensai's scheme.

I left other clues in the previous chapters, but I feel weary having to enumerate all those small things so I would not include them here. If you want to know more about them or ask me if this or that is a clue indeed or whether or not your deduction is true, feel free to ask, ne? A review or a PM would be much, much appreciated!! Thanks! God bless!! xp


	16. Chapter 16: A Knock on Her Heart

**Chapter Sixteen: A Knock on Her Heart**

Knock knock.

Blink. Roll to the right.

Knock knock.

Blink. Roll to the left.

An eyebrow rose. KNOCK KNOCK.

Grunt. Cover head with pillow.

A vein sprouted from forehead.

KNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCK

Flinch. "What?!" came a shout from inside the room.

"Oi, lazy girl. Come down, breakfast is set," retorted someone from outside the room.

She scratched her eyes. "B-Breakfast?" was her weak reply. She patted her cheeks, stretched her arms and legs, and YAWNED loudly. She blinked twice. And once more. She sat up. "Breakfast?" she murmured wondrously as if the thought was alien to her.

She looked around, surprised to see a different setting. _'What an elegant room,'_ was what first came to mind. She realized she was not in her bedroom—more so in her house—and instead was in somewhere resembling a palace in her childhood dreams. Her bed was soft and huge—her whole family could probably sleep there simultaneously and enough space would still be left for, say, Karupin. Meiko raised an eyebrow. Karupin? What the heck's the matter with her?

"Oi. Ore-sama knows you're awake now. Your yawn just resounded throughout the hall," the bored voice from earlier disrupted her thoughts.

Meiko gawked. Her. . . yawn?

How. Embarrassing.

"Wha- I-" She made a face. "Whatever, senpai! You're such a loser! (1)" she shouted at him while forming an "L" for "Loser" with her right hand and raising it forehead-level, as if her "senpai" could see the said gesture.

Atobe just had to roll his eyes. Who knew if she really did it? It couldn't be that loud, right?

"Oi. Ore-sama won't repeat this again. Breakfast's ready. Come out there now," he said monotonously with a last single knock. Why on earth did the marvelous him assume the task of waking that lazy girl up?

"Oh, that's right... breakfast," she repeated, and then she paused for a brief moment. She can't remember the last instance she had someone else prepare breakfast for her; she was used to self-service for the longest time. She shook the thought away.

"Coming!" she answered cheerfully.

--

"Such a big mansion... Almost like a palace..." Meiko couldn't help but remark in awe as they climbed up the marble staircase leading to the dining room. The hall was huge and spacious, the ceiling was glittering with lights from luxurious chandeliers, and red carpet was spread over the seemingly unending floor.

"Almost?" Atobe flipped his hair. "This IS a palace. This is Ore-sama's palace," he arrogantly corrected.

Atobe was wearing a black tuxedo since he was in charge of the General Assembly to be held later; meanwhile, Meiko was wearing a one-piece, free-flowing dress that was given to her by a maid. Atobe was annoyed with himself for failing to restrain his blushing every time he caught a glimpse of her.

"Eh?" Meiko quickly reacted, making a face of disgust. "Of course not, this is no palace, you know," she insisted.

Atobe's eyebrow involuntarily rose. "And why not?" he challenged.

Meiko placed a forefinger on her right cheek for what seemed like her 'thinking pose.' "Because... palaces need to have princesses," she said with a satisfied nod of her head.

Atobe glanced at her. "A prince should be enough," he replied, flipping his hair once more.

Meiko shook her head. "Wrong again. It should have a princess, got it? Not just a prince. What's a palace with no beautiful, warm-hearted princess? If I must tell you, in the 'Sleeping Beauty,' the whole kingdom turned to stone because the princess fell into a long, deep sleep," she childishly reasoned out.

Atobe raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't that due to a curse?"

For some reason, Meiko became irritated. "Curse or without, it's just the—" she stopped in midair and looked at him incredulously. "You- How-" She slowly burst into laughter, much to Atobe's confusion. "Ne, senpai,"—she said between hiccups—"how did you know? Don't tell me you read fairy tales?"

Her loud laughter was effectively boiling Atobe's temper.

He cleared his throat. "Expect the knowledgeable Ore-sama to know even those kinds of things," he said, somehow succeeding in controlling himself from demanding her to stop laughing.

"But 'Sleeping Beauty' is no ordinary childhood story! It's a _fairy tale_! And fairy tales are meant for—" she stopped again, becoming aware of the glances the servants were stealing from them and the smiles that they were trying to conceal. She gave an awkward, apologetic laugh. "S-Sorry. I was just joking," she immediately said while patting Atobe's upper arm. "Fairy tales should truly be enjoyed by everyone—girls and b-boys alike."

She almost choked her words.

Atobe closed his eyes and massaged his temples. If they were to always see each other, it seems like he has to prepare himself from being embarrassed every now and then.

. . .

"But seriously though, I really mean it," Meiko pursued the topic when they were safely inside the huge dining room and only a few servants were around. "Without a princess, mansions—or even castles for that matter—are no palace," she said, still childish but with apparent seriousness as she stared steadily at his dark blue-gray orbs.

"What makes you say that?" he managed to ask as his heart's thumping grew louder and his blush threatened to give him away.

"Because..." Meiko began as she tilted her head. "Without a princess, a prince would leave and search high and low for the one destined for him. Would you still call a mansion or castle with no royalty a palace? I wouldn't, if you were to ask me. But without a prince, a princess would just stay put in her room, combing her hair while dreaming for her prince to arrive and save her from solitude. So at any time of the day, there is still royalty in the castle; hence, it is always a palace." She paused, contemplating on what she said. "And don't tell me that there are kings or queens anyway, okay? They're a different story," she quickly barked even though Atobe made no attempt whatsoever in contradicting her.

Atobe simply fell quiet. He stared at the food before him.

In his silence, the only thing he could think of was... 'where's the logic?'

- xp xp xp xp xp –

"Reika! I'm so nervous!" Meiko yelled as she ran to her friend, leaving Atobe walking behind her while observing the venue which was starting to fill up with people—particularly tennis players and cheer dancers.

"You're always nervous. Relax," was Reika's cool reply as she turned to her friend.

Meiko pouted. "It's not that easy..." she said as she looked around.

A certain tensai suddenly caught her eye.

"Syuu—!" she began as she raised her hand to wave at him.

"Saa... Mei—"

However, _someone_ _else_ caught her eye.

"K-Kojirou-kun!" she enthusiastically called; her hand dropping to her side as she ran towards him.

Fortunately, the tensai had not pronounced her whole name yet. He sweatdropped and his right eyebrow made an involuntary twitch as he watched her ran towards their childhood friend.

"Kojirou-kun! Long time no see! I missed you so much!" she cheerfully greeted as she tugged his sleeve. "Ne, tell me, you've grown taller, no?" she asked, comparing their heights with her other hand.

"Meiko-chan, you too, you've grown taller," the handsome Saeki replied with a relaxed smile on his face.

"Really?" Meiko smiled. "Of course I did. I always drink milk!" She gave a small laugh as she let her eyes travel around. There were so many stories she wanted to share that she didn't know where to start.

"Boo."

Meiko flinched as she spun her head. "Oh, Syuusuke-kun! You're here," she cheerfully greeted.

"Eh." Fuji nodded, his smile radiating. "Saa... Tell me, Meiko-chan, did you not notice me earlier?" he inquired with a hint of slight intimidation in his voice.

"N—" Meiko stopped in midair as realization hit her. She let out an apologetic laugh. "So sorry, Syuusuke-kun! I got excited in seeing Kojirou-kun that I totally missed you out. You know we haven't seen each other for the longest time, ne? Besides, I'm also very nervous right now and..."

Fuji chuckled at her tensed expression. "I was only teasing, Meiko-chan, you don't have to worry."

Meiko made a face. "You're really a sadist," she said with a small laugh.

Fuji patted her head; then, his expression turned rather serious. "Saa, Meiko-chan. Believe me, I don't want to _deprive_ you of anything but,"—he opened his eyes and focused them on her right hand—"if Nami-chan happens to be here and see you, she might get furious," he noted, referring to her clutch at Saeki's sleeve.

"Eh?!" Meiko instantly let go of the fukubuchou's sleeve, a blush creeping on her cheeks.

Saeki had no reaction whatsoever aside from slight surprise. He was used to Meiko's tugging at his sleeve, so his reaction was in response to Fuji's comment. He just knew the tensai too well to not notice that something was up.

"I thought you already settled matters with her?" Meiko asked instead, trying to focus on that part of the topic.

"There's always a healing-and-recovery stage, Meiko-chan. And sometimes, being exposed to people at that stage is riskier, just like in chickenpox and measles," Fuji patiently explained, his eyes immediately closed after a brief moment of opening them.

"Ahh...I see." Meiko slowly took in his words. So it must mean... that Nami is like chickenpox and measles?! Hmmm... Very clever indeed.

"Ne, Syuusuke-kun, have you seen Reika? I was with her before I saw you two..." Meiko said, her eyes roaming around in search for her friend.

"Hmmm... I think she—"

"She already went backstage to prepare for your performance. Tsukushi, shouldn't you also be going there now?" a bored, seemingly annoyed, voice joined them.

Meiko jumped up at the sudden intrusion. The two guys turned to its direction.

"Oh, senpai!" Meiko exclaimed, remembering that she left him alone so that she could chat with Reika, and afterwards, engaged herself in conversation with the two guys.

In short, she completely forgot about him.

"S-Sorry if I—"

"Saa, Atobe... You seem to be doing a good job organizing this event. Everything seems to be in proper order, no?" Fuji butted in.

Atobe glanced at Saeki before turning to the tensai. There was a short pause wherein the two just stared at each other. Saeki was quick to notice the _childish_ tension.

"Of course, Ore-sama is awesome at everything," he arrogantly replied, flipping his hair and wearing his famous smirk.

Meiko giggled. "There he goes again..." she teased.

"Oi, Tsu—"

"Ne, Atobe..." Fuji cut him off, much to the diva's displease.

"What is it?" Atobe asked irritably.

"Shouldn't you be facilitating... over there?" Fuji asked, pointing to the entrance where many people were coming in.

Atobe's eyebrows creased. "There are people assigned there. Ore-sama is the student council president; he doesn't do minor jobs."

"Minor? Welcoming guests is a very important job, Atobe. It sets the mood of the people attending the—"

"As Ore-sama said, there are people already assigned there. Tsukushi, aren't you supposed to—"

"Ah, is that so? Then, how about... over there?" Fuji pointed to where some members of the student council were busy talking to the guest speakers and other important people. "Shouldn't an important person like you chat with fellow important people?" Fuji gently asked while smiling trickily.

Atobe raised an eyebrow. "No, because Ore-sama is more important than them," he arrogantly and dismissively replied. "Where are your teammates, Fuji?" he asked instead to stop the tensai from further asking senseless questions.

"They're... _over there_," Fuji answered, pointing to where the Seigaku team was sitting about ten meters away from them. A wry, childish smile was apparent on his face.

A vein threatened to sprout from Atobe's forehead as he heard Fuji say "over there" for the third time.

Because, no, our resident tensai wasn't making it too obvious that he wanted Atobe to go anywhere else... over there.

Meiko and Saeki exchanged glances as they watched the two. It seemed like the two were trying to get on each other's nerves or, rather, it seemed like Fuji was enjoying getting on the other's nerves while Atobe, well, looked fairly pissed off though, of course, he still looked reserved and in control.

"The program's about to start in ten minutes, it would be better if you settle yourselves down," Atobe said. He turned to Saeki. "Same goes for you, Rokkaku Chuu's fukubuchou."

"Ah, I know," Saeki replied. Now it made him wonder, did the tension also involve _him_?

"Ne, senpai, are you going backstage?" Meiko asked, beaming at the buchou.

Atobe blinked. "Ah, Ore-sama is."

Meiko's smile broadened. "Then let's go together," she invited, jumping towards him.

Heat was starting to come to his face. "Then be quick. Ore-sama has a lot to attend to."

Meiko giggled. "Okay. Okay. I got it," she teasingly replied. Then, she turned to Fuji and Saeki. "See you later!"

"Ah, see yah," came their reply.

--

"I admire you, being able to handle such a big event," Meiko commented as they walked towards the backstage area. She was looking around, observing the last-minute preparations of the organizers.

"Of course, nothing is impossible for the great Ore-sama," Atobe replied with another flip of his hair.

"Hmmm... I'm starting to believe that..." she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing really," was her answer, making sure to see Atobe's reaction at the corner of her eyes.

One of Atobe's eyebrows involuntarily rose.

She giggled. "Ne, senpai..."

"What?"

She straightened the slight fold on the hem of her skirt. "Thank you for last night," she said with a timid smile on her face.

Atobe glanced at her, feeling strange with her _rare_ shyness. "It's nothing."

"And... also for earlier this morning..." she continued.

_'This morning?'_ Atobe's eyebrows creased. "What about it?"

"Well, for waking me up and... for the breakfast and... for giving me a ride here and..."

"Ah, ah. Ore-sama got your point. He doesn't mind at all..."

Atobe was reluctant to continue, but he did nevertheless.

"...doing things for you."

He didn't know that fighting a blush from creeping up one's cheeks was harder than beating oneself in tennis.

Silence lingered between them, and Atobe had no clue as to what effect his words had on the small girl beside him.

"Ne, senpai..."

As if a cork had suddenly plugged Atobe's throat, all he managed to utter was a meager "Hm?" sound.

"Are you free this afternoon?"

Atobe's eyebrows drew closer to each other. "Why do you ask?"

Meiko tilted her head, looking too childishly shy to say the next words. "If... it's okay with you, I want to... uhmmm... what I mean is..." She bit her lower lip before taking a deep breath. "If I do well in this performance, I'll treat you with anything you want," she finally verbalized.

Atobe paused, letting her words sink in. "You don't—"

"That's a promise."

Her sudden seriousness surprised Atobe. He looked at her, and saw her simply looking straight ahead, a trace of shyness still visible on her face, and looking as if expressing those words must have been a big difficulty on her part.

"If that's what you want..." Atobe replied rather awkwardly, finding himself at a loss for words as his heart continued beating furiously.

Meiko's smile returned to normal. "It's the least I could do, you know. I already owe you so much."

Atobe also looked straight ahead. He wasn't blushing anymore and neither was his mind racing like before. For that specific point in time, he could just feel his heart beating against his chest, and all he wanted was to enjoy the comfort of that moment.

"Ore-sama doesn't mind..."

--

**A/N:** Please review! Thanks! GOD BLESS!! XD

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Thanks to those who gave reviews for the previous chapter! I really appreciate them! xq

Just a brief message to **unknown player**: I apologize if there aren't much Fuji-Meiko scenes yet. I promise to write more of them in future chapters! xq

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Credits to "Bubblegang" for the line "Whatever, (senpai)! You're such a loser!" The original version used "yaya" instead of "senpai," of course. xq I just love those lines! xp


	17. Chapter 17: As Sunset Draws Nearer

Special thanks to _**MinuitAube **_for her review on Chapter Fifteen and to **_Schnuppi _**for her review on Chapter Sixteen. Thank you so much! It's a pity I can't thank you guys directly but hope this would suffice! GOD BLESS Y'ALL!!! XD

--

**Chapter Seventeen: As Sunset Draws Nearer  
**

It was a bright Sunday morning, the one directly after the General Assembly our cute little cheerdancer had anticipated for weeks.

"Ahh! I'm late!" she exclaimed as her feet dashed a high-end street towards a familiar old playground.

She took a quick glance at her watch which, for the first time in years, she wore on her wrist again. She had gotten used to checking the time on her phone but, since she had no more phone to rely to anymore, she simply had no other choice.

She grunted. "Oi, Tsukushi Meiko, why can't anything else wake you up aside from your phone's alarm?!" she scolded herself. She was the one who set up the "appointment" and demanded that they meet at 10AM _sharp_, and now the hands of her watch were telling her that she was twenty minutes late, thanks to the almost unused alarm clock that was Kojirou-kun's birthday gift to her the previous year.

"Sorry, I'm late!" she shouted as she finally reached her destination, her left hand clutching the open wired gate as her left hand held her knee for support as she stabilized her breathing.

She could visualize the eyes of the person already inside the playground stare at her and watch her catch her breath.

"Oi, you can't really consider yourself late," the person said, not knowing whether to be surprised because she came _early_ or because she deemed herself as _late_.

Meiko paused. Not late? She looked up at the other as if expecting sarcasm to greet her. There was none. She inhaled one last time and stood up straight.

"Our call time is ten o'clock, right?" she asked, pulled up slightly the sleeve of her sky blue jacket, and then pointed to her watch. "My watch says it's already twenty-five minutes past ten—which means I _am_ late," she argued although what he said was supposed to be in her favor.

The guy raised an eyebrow. "Then if Ore-sama's watch says that it's already five o'clock in the afternoon, does it mean that he has to send you home right now?" he asked, the sarcasm she was looking for earlier was now apparent in his voice.

"I don't under—," she cut off as realization flooded her. "Oh, silly me! I forgot I adjusted my watch last night so that I won't be late today..." She poked her head. "I can't believe I even ran and hurried when I was actually early." She laughed at her foolishness, and then tilted her head. "But you still came earlier than me," she remarked.

Atobe's cheeks grew pink, but he mentally shook it away. "Of course, Ore-sama is never late."

Meiko slowly nodded. "I see."

Silence lingered, and they stared at each other for a little while.

"So... where do you want to go now?" she asked, breaking the moment's silence. She just realized she had NOT planned anything concrete for that day AT ALL.

"Ore-sama doesn't have anything particular in mind. He's letting you decide for the moment," he replied as they started walking out of the playground.

"Hmmm..." Meiko placed her forefinger on her cheek, trying to think of anything, as in anything, sensible to do on a Sunday morning. "Did you have breakfast already?"

"Ah." Atobe smoothed out a small wrinkle on his dark blue leather jacket. "You?"

"Same."

They turned a corner towards the sidewalk lined up with various stores. Meiko halted.

Atobe stopped as well. "Forgot something?"

Meiko shook her head. "Let's not go this way," she said as she turned her heel towards the opposite side of the street. "It won't be convenient for us..."

--

"Train?" Atobe asked curiously as they stood before the nearest train station.

"Eh. This way, we could go wherever we want," she answered cheerfully. She turned her eyes towards the list of stations. "Hmm... now, where to go?" she wondered aloud.

Atobe stared at her and watched as she deeply pondered on where to go. She seemed to be having a real hard time deciding.

"Ore-sama can't believe you asked him out without any plans at all on what to do," he said his thoughts aloud, making Meiko look at him apologetically yet childishly. He sighed. "Why don't we go in there for the meantime?" he suggested, nodding to the direction of a nearby mall.

Meiko followed his eyes, then a bright smile touched her lips. "Okay then, let's do some window-shopping first!"

--

"Wow, what a HUUUGGGEEE bear..." Meiko breathed in awe as they stopped by in front of a toy store. "Ne, senpai, I'm guessing that it's heavier than me, what do you think?" she asked as she subconsciously tapped his arm a few times.

"If you want it, just buy it," Atobe said as if it was the most common thing to do on earth.

"If I have the resources then I would have done it before you could even think of it," Meiko replied sarcastically as she resumed walking and glancing over shops.

"What do you mean?" he asked, following behind her.

"My budget's quite tight these days, especially since I still have to save up for my phone that was broken..." she explained nonchalantly as her eyes continued to travel around the area.

"You still haven't replaced it?" he asked with slight incredulity. He, himself, carries at least four cellular phones--serving different purposes--wherever he goes. "Then how do—"

"Oh, look!" Meiko exclaimed, seemingly unaware of cutting him off.

Atobe automatically followed the direction of her _stunned _eyes... and saw a mascot in a Mickey Mouse costume.

Very interesting.

He blinked boringly. "What about it?"

Meiko looked at him bewilderedly. "It's Mickey Mouse, obviously. How can you not know Mickey Mouse when you know Sleep—" Meiko cleared her throat uneasily. "I mean—"

Atobe closed his eyes to _not _see her head that he _so_ wanted to poke at that moment. "Ore-sama knows that that mascot is called Mickey Mouse, but _what about it_?"

Meiko tilted her head and shifted back her gaze to the mascot giving away balloons to children. "Well..." she smiled adorably. "Isn't he _soo_ cute?"

Atobe mentally rolled his eyes. Somehow, he was able to anticipate that answer.

"Forget about it. Let's go somewhere," he said as he turned around.

Meiko looked back at him. "Eh? Where to?" she asked curiously.

"You'll see when we get there," he said as he took her wrist and walked away from the "cute" mascot.

--

"Welcome, sir. May I help you?" a young saleslady asked; her pink, heart-shaped eyes revealing that she, along with all the other female species around, was currently being drawn to his prowess.

The manager seemed to have noticed the sudden distraction and curiously set eyes upon the newcomers. His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Oh, it's you, Master Atobe Keigo," he greeted as he bowed infinitely. He paused. "Oi, all of you! Give respect! This is Master A--"

The said "Master" snapped his fingers. "Ore-sama is in a hurry, don't waste his time."

The half-balding manager jaw-dropped. "Sorry, Master Atobe Keigo. How can we help you?" he asked while drying his sweat with a towel from his pocket.

Atobe looked at Meiko at the corner of his eyes. "Is there anything in particular that you want?" he asked.

"Eh?" Meiko was surprised, not yet recovering from the sight of too much courtesy to the "senpai" she very-so-often teases.

"Oh, is that pretty girl your girlfriend, Master Atobe? Don't be shy, miss, take a look at our latest models," the manager invited, the wide, seemingly-maniacal smile on his face giving Meiko goosebumps.

"N-no--, I-" Meiko gulped, totally missing out that the manager called her Atobe's girlfriend (to which Atobe's cheeks responded with a slight blush). She tugged Atobe's jacket and moved closer to him, as if wanting to tell him a secret that was too embarrassing for anyone else to know. "Ne, senpai... I won't be buying yet; I already told you, I still don't have money," she whispered to him while flashing awkward smiles to the people around whose eyes were (enviously) fixed on them.

Atobe's eyes left her as they searched among the cellular phone models displayed. They fell on one in particular.

"Ore-sama thinks that one would suit you for now," he said, eyeing a classy sky blue flip-flap model.

Meiko understood that Atobe meant to pay the phone for her, and she knew it wouldn't affect his _coin purse_ a bit, but she didn't want to owe anyone anything, especially in financial terms.

"Senpai, I don't--"

"This one, Master Atobe?" the manager asked the moment one of the salesladies handed the said model to him.

"Ah, that one," he confirmed as he handed him a gold credit card.

"As you wish, Master," the manager replied, giving the credit card to a saleslady while personally placing the phone in its box.

After a few seconds' wait they took the package and walked towards the exit. Meiko turned back to the people inside and bowed in thanks.

--

They continued roaming around the mall, exchanging no words since they left the store. Atobe was waiting for her to speak first, while Meiko was, unusual as it may seem, at a loss for something to say. She didn't know how to thank him, especially since he acted without asking her about it first.

Atobe was the first to give in. "Where do you want to go next?" he asked.

Meiko tilted her head. She forgot that she still had to decide on where they were to go. "Sorry, senpai, I can't think of anything at the moment," she admitted.

Atobe's eyebrows creased. He felt annoyed. "Is it about the phone?"

Meiko jolted up. It was absolutely not what she meant. As she turned to look at him, she caught a glimpse of the Mickey Mouse mascot they saw earlier. "Eh, maybe it is..."

Atobe's eyebrows further creased.

She sighed. "Which is why... you owe me something."

Atobe blinked. "What?"

Meiko stared at him for a few seconds, and then flashed him a childish smile. "I already know where I want to go. Since you owe me something, no complaints, ayt?"

Atobe raised an eyebrow. He would've wanted to point out that it was she who was supposed to owe him something since he bought her a phone, but seeing as how it was Tsukushi Meiko who he was talking to, more particularly, the girl who insisted that the Atobe mansion was no palace because it had no princess, he knew better than to argue.

"Whatever."

--

"Daraaan!" Meiko excitedly yelled after about fifteen minutes of train ride and three minutes of walk.

Atobe looked upwards and saw a gigantic circle-shaped structure rotating at different speeds. He blinked. "Amusement park."

Meiko giggled at his expression. She enthusiastically nodded. "Eh. Amusement park! Don't you just love the air? Weeeh! I'm so excited!" she continuously exclaimed.

Atobe looked down at her. So this was what Mickey Mouse reminded her of. He chuckled inwardly. She seemed more of a child than Gakuto or his Seigaku counterpart Kikumaru ever was. He had to admit, being with her was somewhat refreshing.

"I'll treat you with everything, okay? It would have been more fun if I could afford Disneyland, but this would do for now. I'm sure this would still be very fun!" she cheerfully told him. "Besides, there's always a next time, ne?"

'A next time.' Atobe arrogantly smiled to himself. Of course there would be.

"Oh, what are we waiting for? Let's enter now!" she invited as she took his arm and jumped towards the entrance gate.

--

"Now, where to ride first?" she wondered aloud as she looked around. "Hmmm... Ah!"

Atobe had the feeling that he had to get used to her frequent exclamations while they were at the borders of the amusement park.

"As a warm up, let's start with the carousel!" she said, darting to where the said ride was.

Atobe jerked. Never would he ride a carousel at his age. "Oi, Tsu--"

And he thought he knew better than to argue with the stubborn, childish her.

--

"Wasn't the ride fun?" Meiko asked him as they exited the carousel area, looking at the pictures she took using the phone that he bought her.

"No," Atobe immediately answered, aware of the glances the people around were giving them. They happened to be the _only_ adults _without_ any below-seven companion who rode the carousel.

Meiko just laughed at him. "You're such a loser, senpai," she said teasingly, her attention still focused on the screen of her phone.

Atobe mentally sighed. Just what had he gotten himself into?

Meiko stopped walking, and Atobe did the same. In his mind, he wondered what new idea struck his _cute_ little companion.

"Now that we had our warm-up, it's time for the _true_ rides," she 'proclaimed' with a determined look on her face.

Atobe's head was starting to ache.

--

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

A scream from the top of someone's lungs dominated the area... above the ground.

Atobe closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt like what he was about to reveal was a secret that would take away _someone_'s happiness forever.

"Oi, Tsukushi..." he turned to look at her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

"...the ride has already stopped."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--" Meiko stopped in midair. She opened her eyes, looking surprised. "It has?"

"Ah, in case you haven't noticed," Atobe answered. His eyes were still closed and his fist, which was leaning on the door of their cart, was supporting his head.

"Oh," was Meiko's only response. If she noticed the puzzled stares and not-so-hidden smiles of the people around them, she made no hint of showing. "Let's transfer then!" she said, hastily motioning Atobe to get off the cart so that she, too, could get out.

Atobe could only shake his head as he did what he was _asked_ to do.

--

"Senpai, do you see a ride that we haven't ridden on yet?" Meiko curiously asked two hours later.

"If we still haven't ridden on everything yet, this amusement park must have infinite rides," Atobe answered, fully aware that they already had at least two rounds of every ride--aside from the ferris wheel, that is, which she insisted on riding on later. She sure knew how to take advantage of their ticket fee.

"I see. Then do you want to ride again on the--"

"It's a quarter-to-three already. Aren't you feeling hungry yet?" Atobe asked. It must have been an attempt to salvage his remaining dignity--if there was still any.

Meiko touched her stomach. "Now that you mention it..."

--

"Itadakimasu!" Meiko exclaimed before taking a bite of her tempura. She chewed the food carefully. "Mmmm... Delicious!" And she proceeded to take another.

Atobe took a few seconds to watch her merrily eat before taking a spoonful of his in, of course, a more elegant manner.

"Ne senpai, is there anything in particular that you want to do or go to before this day ends? Since today is _supposed_ to be my 'payback' for everything you've done for me," Meiko asked in between spoonfuls.

"Don't talk while your mouth is full," was Atobe's unrelated reply. Why did she think he was letting her decide all this time?

Meiko stopped eating to observe him. "If you're not enjoying--"

"Drama doesn't suit you," Atobe cut her off. "Aren't you going to order ice cream?"

Meiko pouted at him. "Of course I will, but only after I finish this, I don't want it to melt..."

Atobe sure knew how to change the topic.

--

"Whew, that haunted house was not the slightest bit scary," Meiko remarked as they exited the "Haunted Mansion."

Atobe smirked. "Hyoutei Gakuen during night must be scarier then?"

Meiko frowned at him. "Whatever!"

Atobe flipped his hair. "You don't have to pretend that you're brave, Ore-sama knows you aren't," he teased further.

"You're really a loser, senpai..." Meiko said, failing to think of anything else to say. Something caught her eyes _again_. "Oh, look! A souvenir shop!" she exclaimed, walking without notice towards the said shop, but making sure to tug his arm along. "Let's buy something!"

"Ah, ah," Atobe lazily replied as he, too, walked towards it. Yeah, as if he had a choice.

--

"A-to-be-se-n-pa-i!!" Meiko called loudly after him as he walked towards somewhere, or rather, anywhere at all.

Meiko pouted when he did not show signs of hearing her. 'What's wrong with him?'

Meiko returned her gaze to the counter of souvenirs they were previously looking at. Who said she wanted to stay there? She was also getting irritated at the two girls near her who were endlessly discussing the meaning and significance of every ride, though she only managed to catch a few words and phrases. Just enjoy the rides, will ya?

"Hmm..." she thought in a hurry. "I'll take this one and that," she pointed to the saleslady.

--

"Senpai, why in a bad mood so suddenly?" Meiko asked as she finally caught up with him.

"Ore-sama isn't interested in those things," was his cool reply.

Meiko looked down at her hands. "Oh," she said, and she placed them inside the pockets of her jacket.

"Senpai..."

"Hn?"

"Where are we heading?"

Atobe stopped in his tracks. "Home."

"Eh?! But--"

"Let's go."

Meiko didn't move. Instead, she looked away, appearing stubborn as ever.

"Haven't you enjoyed yourself yet?" Atobe asked, equally determined to do what he wanted, or rather, what he believed he wanted to do.

"That's not it. I enjoyed, and I still am, until you..."

Atobe's eyebrows creased. So now it was because of him.

Meiko glanced at her watch. "Just some minutes more and we'd be able to see the sunset..."

Atobe narrowed his eyes.

"...up there."

Atobe's eyes nearly widened. He knew for sure that "up there" meant the huge ferris wheel behind him (not that he _intentionally _went there, it just so happened that his feet _accidentally _took him there). Good thing he was the refined Atobe Keigo, for if not, he would have poked his head and shook it violently for being so stupid. But then again, if he was not Atobe Keigo, he wouldn't react as childishly as that, right? Annoying girls, they shouldn't talk about how a girl would _only_ want to ride in a ferris wheel with the one she _liked _just when Atobe was so aware that that was the only ride they hadn't taken advantage of yet.

"Fine," he said, pink blush creeping up his cheeks as he flipped his hair. "Let's fall in line then."

Who would've thought that the gracious time would come when the egotistical Keigo-sama would invite someone to... "fall in line"?

--

"Weeh! It's starting!" Meiko cheered as the cart they were riding in gave a slight sway backward and forward. Was it only Atobe's imagination, or was there really nervousness on her voice?

"Is this your first time riding a ferris wheel?" Atobe asked coolly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"No," she answered shortly. "But I rarely ride one," she added, her hands gripping tightly the edge of her seat.

Atobe mentally raised an eyebrow as he saw Meiko stare blankly at him, not moving an inch as the ferris wheel started to turn. He fully expected her to watch excitedly at the window and wave at the crowd beneath them.

"Oi, what's wrong?" he asked.

Meiko nervously shook her head. "Nothing, it's just that..."

She gulped.

"I'm afraid of heights."

A roar of laughter would have escaped Atobe's lips if not only for the shock that came with the confession.

"You're what?" he asked bluntly.

Meiko made a face at him. "Don't make me repeat what I just said! I'm easily irritated when I'm not at ease," she told him angrily.

This time, as the words slowly but surely sunk in Atobe's head, laughter escaped from his lips.

"What?!" Meiko demanded.

Atobe shook his head, humor can still be traced on his lips. "We have ridden every single ride here, including the octopus and the roller coaster, and now you're telling Ore-sama that you're _afraid of heights_?"

"Can I help it if I am? The other rides are not as high as this, in case you haven't noticed. They only do various twists and turns which I have gotten used to since the day I became a cheer dancer," Meiko irritably explained.

"But still--" Atobe just couldn't see the logic.

"Oh my! We're so high up!" She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip; the grip of her hands on her seat tightening further.

Atobe laughed some more. Everything was just so hilarious.

"Shut up, senpai! Can't you see I'm already afraid here?" Meiko demanded, looking reproachfully at him yet still not moving an inch.

"If you're in Ore-sama's position, I'm sure you won't be satisfied with just laughing. So be thankful," he replied, chuckling yet again.

"You're so evil," Meiko told him with a matching rolling of her eyes. As she did that, she caught a glimpse of the descending sun.

"Sunset's almost there!" she exclaimed happily as she gaped at the window.

"Oi, oi, Ore-sama thought you're afraid of heights," Atobe half-asked.

Meiko, who was still clutching the edge of her seat, made no signs of hearing him. Atobe raised an eyebrow as he noticed her observe his position.

"You won't see the sunset in your place," Meiko answered his mental question.

True, there were marks of a previously-glued poster at his side of the window that deprived him of getting a clear picture of the outside view.

"Here, sit beside me," Meiko offered as she moved on her right to give space for him.

"H-Huh?" Atobe couldn't believe he could actually stutter, though it wasn't really the first time.

"Come on, sunset is almost there. It would be such a waste if you wouldn't see it," she insisted quite irritably.

Atobe tried to gulp away his blush. "It doesn't really--" he cut off his words. "Fine," he replied in the most controlled voice that he could muster.

He bent over and sat beside her, his heartbeat a gazillion times faster. Meiko was attentively looking out the window, anticipating the beautiful view of sunset over Tokyo.

"I just hope sunset appears before this ride stops..." she said worriedly as she sat up straight. Why she was so worried to see it she also didn't know. "But if it doesn't, then..." She giggled as she slowly turned to look at her seatmate's face, searching for his eyes at the same time. "...then maybe you could fetch us a helicopter and--"

_'Thump.'_

Her eyes met Atobe's, and a blush swiftly crept on her cheeks. She just realized they were only inches away from each other, but it shouldn't have mattered, right? And no, it wasn't as if they were face-to-face already or something. She instinctively turned to the window. Why was her heart beating like crazy?

Atobe curiously raised an eyebrow. Her fear of heights was surely making her act weird.

"Oi. You were saying, Tsukushi?" he asked, still wondering what it was that made her stop. He was assuming that by now she must already feel at ease being with him, especially since she even invited him for a "date."

Meiko jumped up at the sound of her name, for some reason she didn't know and didn't seem to wanna know. What the heck's wrong with her? As if being so close to him disturbed her.

"N-Nothing." There, she was stuttering. "I...I just want to make sure my eyes are seeing the outside view, you know, in case we... I mean, so that the sunset won't miss us," she answered tensely. Who knew they were so special that the sunset would even bother missing them?

"Oh," Atobe replied, stopping himself from pointing out her mistake and resorting to also wait for the sunset so that he would neither be scolded nor cried upon later.

Two pairs of eyes were waiting for the sun to descend graciously. They knew it was bound to do that; they just didn't know when exactly.

And they were right. Sunset was indeed drawing nearer.

"There it is!" Meiko happily exclaimed as her eyes reflected the reddish-orange sunset. She looked down outside the window, forgetting for that moment her fear of heights, but not quite the strange feeling inside her.

"Ah, there it is," Atobe agreed, a smile apparent on his lips as his eyes also stared at the wonderful view.

"How beautiful..." Meiko breathed as her eyes wandered around the twinkling city of Tokyo. It was such a spectacular sight to see--the rays of the sun hovering over every house and every object as the golden orb of fire united with the sky, thus forming the perfect horizon.

Atobe's eyes lingered outside for a few seconds before directing to what they really wanted to see. If only she would turn around and--

"I'm really happy right now..." Meiko told him as she rested a side of her head against the window.

"A-Ah."

She wasn't the only one stuttering, if only she would notice.

She looked up at him in the eyes and smiled. The strange feeling inside her was getting deeper, yet it did not seem a trouble.

Atobe's cheeks were pink from blushing.

But this time, it wasn't only his.

Who said sunset had already drawn?

Not yet. Just a little more...

--

--

--


End file.
